Cries of Hope
by The Stars Across
Summary: AU. After the empire took over the galaxy, Sidius finds a young Anakin Skywalker and trains him as a Sith, while Padme is trained in the Jedi arts, once destiny brings them together, will the love of a jedi and a sith be enough to free the galaxy once again?
1. Prologue: Cries Of Hope

**Disclaimer: Everything and Everyone in Star Wars belongs to George!**

**AN: I would like to thank my little brother brother for coming up with the title of the story:)**

Cries of Hope

Prologue:

A Long Time Ago In a Galaxy Far, Far Away…

It all started as the sun set above the horizon and the darkness of night covered the entire planet of Coruscant, a new era was about to begin.

As Jedi Master, Yoda, looked out the window of the Council Chambers, the night of the Dark Side had arrived…

Tragedy stroke the entire Galaxy when the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious, along with his apprentice, Darth Maul and Sith assassins, took control of a secret Clone Army that as soon as it was completed, used it to assassinate the supreme Chancellor Valorum, which didn't really affect the people, since he was already called the most inept chancellor in history. And Darth Sidious declared himself Emperor of the new Galactic Empire, with his new Clone Troopers he labeled the Jedi as enemies of the Empire and initiated the Jedi Purge. When the Jedi found out the truth about the Sith, it was too late, very few Jedi managed to escape, very few that were scattered across the galaxy managed to go into hiding, and very few that were in Coruscant managed to make it off planet. This included Masters, Yoda, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi Mundi, Plo Koon, Shaak Ti, Kit Fisto, Adi Galia, Qui-Gon Jinn, Tahl and many others, as well as knights, Padawans and younglings. Most Jedi relocated on the planet of Yavin IV to construct their main Temple, but to ensure their survival, numerous temples where built across the galaxy to ensure the survival of the Jedi…

Not only did tragedy hit the Jedi, it also hit the Royal families of various Democratic Planets, including the Emperor's home planet of Naboo. The Royal family refused to put the harsh imperial rules to their people, This did not please the Emperor, and someone within the Naboo palace betrayed the king of Naboo, Ruwee Naberrie, and clone troops were sent to the small planet to invade and assassinate the royal family.

In the depths of night, clone troopers made it to the palace of Naboo, looking for the Royal Family, they managed to hide, but were found getting a ship ready to get off planet, the troopers did not lose any time and started shooting at the family, killing the king, the queen and their oldest daughter, however, the youngest of the Naberrie family managed to escape, and she made it out of the palace, running as fast as she could, with tears in her eyes, she wasn't fast enough, and troopers caught up with her, and before they could assassinate her, like the rest of her family, Jedi Padawans, Siri Tachi and Obi-Wan Kenobi saved the young princess and took her to the Jedi temple, since she had no family left, the Jedi only accepted her when Padawan Tachi said she would train her, even though she was not force sensitive enough to become a Jedi, but she could train enough to help fight the empire and become once again the true Queen of Naboo.

While personally searching for the remainder Jedi, Darth Sidious landed on the scarce planet of Tatooine and came across a young nine-year old boy who he felt powerful in the force, but the boy refused his offer to leave with the emperor in order to stay with his mother. Angered by this, Sidious followed the boy to the Homestead where he lived with his mother, her husband and step-brother. There his troops killed the young Boy's family and took him to secretly train him as the most powerful Sith in the galaxy…

For the next years to come, all hope for the galaxy seemed lost, all living beings where under the oppression of the Sith and their empire. But there where those who fought for justice, and even though the Chosen One was at the mercy of the Sith, the Jedi held the key to help him seek the light and once again bring peace to the galaxy…


	2. Chapter 1: The Investigation

Chapter 1: The Investigation

12 years later…

_Imperial City- Lower Levels:_

The cantina in the Lower levels of Coruscant, or as it was now called, Imperial City was interesting in many ways; it was the source for the information needed. Thirty-one year old, Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his best friend's rouge Padawan, twenty- year old, Padmé Amidala, where risking it all to obtain as much information as possible from imperial troopers. Dressed in civilian clothes they stepped into the cantina they would be investigating for the next days to come.

''Keep your eyes open Padawan, you never know who might be here." Obi-Wan said to Padmé

"Yes Master." answered the young Jedi,

"And, Padmé…" Obi-Wan called to her. "Try to not bring too much attention."

"Of course, Master." she answered, as they went separate ways in order to acquire as much information as possible that could help the Jedi and the rebellion. Obi-wan went to get a drink at the bar and listen to those next to him and Padmé went to look around.

* * *

The young twenty-year old Sith named Darth Vader was at one of the cantinas in the lower levels of Imperial City, he was having an investigation of his own. His master was losing his patience with the troops since they seem to make no progress on finding the remaining Jedi. He knew that in the lower levels there was always someone who knew more than they let on. And this night his master had been sure to have every imperial soldier working to make sure no suspicions arose if he did found any Jedi here.

"Anything else, sir?" asked the waiter droid

"No, thank you," answered the young Sith Lord, as he paid, and got up to explore the establishment for any leads on the Jedi…

* * *

'_This is such a waste of time'_ Padmé thought, as she walked around the cantina for what seemed the fifth time. The atmosphere in the bar was getting heavy, and she knew their mission was half from over. She was not used to this type of environment, most of the times she was where she felt save, and certainly a place like this was not her idea of save; the only reason they sent her and Obi-Wan was because their appearances where unknown to the Empire, since the last time they saw her, she was a little girl and Obi-Wan was a Padawan who didn't have any facial hair.

She was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't notice the man walking in her direction, who also seemed distracted, because both of them literally crashed against each other, of course since she was petite and he was much taller than her, she was the one that went to the floor.

"I'm sorry." he said as he bent down to help her up.

"No it's alright... it was my fault, I didn't notice where I was going." she said. As she reached for his extended hand, she noticed his beautiful sapphire blue eyes, which were hard to see with the dim light of the cantina, his golden hair that went almost to his shoulders, and his tanned skin, he was very handsome.

"I didn't notice where I was going either." He replied. Once she was up, he noticed how beautiful she was, she had the most amazing brown eyes, long curly brown hair, and a creamy ivory skin; the white, strapless dress she was wearing made her look like... like an angel.

There was an awkward silence between the two of them, and Padmé was first to break it,

"I... I should go... they are waiting for me" but he just stared at her in awe, as she walked away, but didn't dare to say a word to her

'_Wait!' _He thought, '_a Sith is not supposed to feel this way'_ he reminded himself, as he got back to his investigation, which was not going well, no one seem to know anything about the Jedi in Imperial City.

* * *

'_How can I be so stupid?' _She asked herself, as she walked looking for her Master's best friend, there were definitely no Imperial soldiers here tonight, which was very strange, since intelligence informed that they met in this particular place every night to discuss Imperial plans, get drunk and pick up women.

A fat, disgusting, drunk man approached her, "Hey sweet thing, care to join me for a drink?" he asked her, she ignored him and tried to walk past him, but he grasped her arm and brought her to him.

"No thank you I'm not interested, now please step aside!" she said as calmly as possible, but this man was really drawing her patience thin.

"Oh no, you are not going anywhere, I just wanna have some fun" He said, as he pulled her closer to him, at this point Padmé's patience had drown out and she slapped the man

"You little!" he said covering his cheek "I guess I will have to teach you a lesson" Padmé knew she couldn't get her weapon, or she would bring attention to herself, and she had forgotten her blaster. The man grabbed both of her hands, trying to take her to one of the rooms in the back.

"Let go of me!" She yelled as she pushed him away.

"You are not going anywhere!" the drunken man said.

"Hey, let go of her!" he heard a deep voice command him. He turned to find a young man, about twenty years younger than him, he snorted.

"Beat it kid, I saw this doll face first" He answered, Padmé stepped on his foot, which made the drunk lose control and he pushed her to the floor, making Vader see red, he came towards the man and punched him on the gut. He might be a Sith, but he really hated to see others being treated as slaves.

"Are you okay?" he asked her as he helped her up again

"Yes… thank you." she answered

"Hey Kid I'm not finished with you!" The man said as he stood up...

* * *

Obi-Wan finished drinking his cup of ardees, he was having no luck tonight either, certainly there were no imperials here, and no one had any valuable information; suddenly, the Jedi Knight heard a big commotion nearby and remembered that Padmé had not returned yet

'_Oh no!' _He thought '_what have you gotten yourself into this time, young one?'_ He wondered as he walked towards the commotion and was not surprised to find that it was a very young man, about the same age as Padmé, avoiding the punches of a really drunk man, who seemed old enough to be his father, and the Padawan standing to the side with a worried face, and he approached her.

"Time to go, Padmé," he said, as he grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the commotion,

"Master, we can't just leave this man fighting alone something that is not his battle!" She complained

"Too late, we can't afford any more eyes on us." What both Jedi didn't notice was that as they left the bar, Padmé's lightsaber fell from her leg holster.

Vader watched the girl being dragged away by a man that seemed ten years her senior, and couldn't help but feel a little bit of jealousy; he noticed that she dropped something, and apparently she didn't notice.

"I don't have time for this!'' Vader said, as he kneed the fat guy, the man fell to the floor in pain and Vader left; he went over to the spot where the girl had been and picked up the weapon.

'_So…'_ he thought '_you are a Jedi, I finally found a lead'_ he said to himself and smirked…

* * *

_Imperial City- Local Speeder:_

"What were you thinking, Padawan? You almost blew our cover!" Obi-Wan exclaimed as he drove the speeder through the massive traffic of ships and speeders, certainly the city hadn't changed much in the last decade.

"I'm sorry, Master Kenobi, but this time it was not my fault, I did not start that fight" she answered

"You may have not started it, but you provoked it"

"Master, that drunk wanted to 'teach me a lesson' and the other one simply wanted to help me" she explained

"After tonight, Padawan, you need to find a disguise to return to that place, we don't want to provoke something like this again" the Jedi master ordered

"But Master Kenobi, do you really think someone will recognize me?"

"Yes Padawan, I think they will. Tomorrow morning please try looking for some sort of disguise, I won't report tonight's incident to the council, but if it happens again I might have to"

"Understood, Master" she answered. The rest of the flight was quiet as neither of them said a word until they arrived to Dex's Diner.

"Hello Dex" Obi-Wan said as they both entered the diner

"Obi-Wan! It's so good to see ya again old buddy" the alien said as he hugged Obi-Wan

"And who might this be?" he asked

"Dex, this is Siri's protégé, Padmé" Obi-Wan said, as he introduced the young woman to his old friend,

"A pleasure to meet you, Milady" he said

"It's nice to meet you too, Dex" she answered formally and shook his hand

"So, Obi-Wan, what brings you to Dex's Diner?" Dex asked

"Well, other than the delicious food you sell here, I was hoping if we could stay here in any of your vacant rooms for the next few days, we just don't want to bring any attention by staying at one of the resorts here in Imperial City"

"Of course, you can stay here old friend, ol' Dex happens to have two vacant rooms"

"Thanks Dex I owe you one"

"No problem" Dex answered, he served them some food, and afterwards lead them to their rooms

"They might not be the most elegant rooms, but I think they are comfortable enough" Dex explained

"These rooms will do just fine Dex, and thanks again for all your help" Obi-Wan answered. As Dex opened the door of the first room

"Padmé, you will be staying in this room" Obi-Wan said

"Yes Master" she answered, as she walked in the room

"Here, Obi-Wan, your room is just two doors away" Dex said, as he led Obi-Wan to his room

* * *

_Imperial City- The Senate Building:_

Darth Vader arrived at Emperor Palpatine's office in the darkness of the night, he knew that he needed to remain as unnoticed as possible, for no one, not even the true Sith apprentice, Darth Maul, was to know there was a secret Sith apprentice.

Once Lord Vader was in the Emperor's office he entered the secret code and went inside the secret passage to meet with his Master.

Vader kneeled to his Master, Emperor Palpatine, Dark Lord of the Sith, who was as evil and hideous on the outside, as he was on the inside; after he declared himself emperor, Jedi Master, Mace Windu tried to destroy the Sith Lord, but failed, even though he managed to deform the Sith Lord and escape afterwards.

"Welcome, Lord Vader, I've been expecting you"

"I came to give you my report on the investigation, Master" the young Sith answered, as he stood up

"Good, good, tell me my apprentice, what do you have to report?" he asked as he turned slowly to face Vader, his yellow eyes the only visible feature in the darkened room.

"You were correct about the Jedi disguising themselves in plain sight, tonight there happened to be two of them in the Cantina our troops frequent, and one of them was foolish enough to drop this, Master" the young Sith explained, as he took the lightsaber out of his robes and handed it to his Master; the Sith Lord took the lightsaber and ignited it, the weapon hummed to life as an emerald light pierced through the darkness of the Sith Lair.

"Good job, my apprentice," Sidious praised, "I think our Jedi might want its weapon back"

"What are your orders my Master?" Vader asked.

"I want you to befriend the Jedi who's weapon you just recovered, infiltrate the Jedi, lord Vader, eliminating the Jedi here on Imperial city won't help if we can't destroy all of them. Only by knowing where they are all hiding will we be able to destroy them all

"Yes, my master, but how am I to become one of them, if I was never one of them?"

"A few years back" explained the Sith Lord "A Jedi Master named Quinlan Vos and his family landed on your home planet Lord Vader, do what you want with that information to gain the trust of the Jedi"

"As you wish, My Lord, I will return to that bar tomorrow and find the Jedi" Lord Vader answered, as he stood up vowed to his Master and left.

His new assignment was about to begin, and little did he know that the infiltration in the Jedi Temple was about to change his life forever...


	3. Chapter 2: Trusting Fate

**Disclaimer: Everything and Everyone in Star Wars belongs to George!**

Chapter 2: Trusting Fate

_Dex's Restaurant- Padmé's room:_

Padmé entered her temporary room; she knew she needed her rest after tonight's ordeal at the Cantina, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about the man that had defended her earlier: those blue eyes staring right back to hers, he helped her without even knowing her, how much she regretted leaving without a simple Thank you, or without even knowing his name; but she knew that it was for the best interest of them all, what would he do, had he known she was a Jedi?

As she went to the mirror adjacent to the bed, she looked at her reflection- how much she had changed over the last decade- she still remembered the little girl she used to be, but those times where gone. She reached for her hair and pulled the long curly tresses up and clasped her hair, that's when she noticed something was wrong, she quickly reached for her leg holster only to find it empty, her weapon was not there.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed to herself "It must be somewhere around here" she continued, as she went around the entire room throwing things everywhere looking for her lightsaber, but after searching for nearly an hour she gave up

"Master Kenobi is going to kill me!" She exclaimed as she passed her hand through her hair

'_It must have fallen at the bar' _she thought_ 'and the worst part of all_' she reminded herself _'Anyone could have found it'_ she decided that tomorrow she had to look for her lightsaber, because she knew she was not going to be able to leave this place without Obi-Wan finding out about it. And if she didn't find her weapon she would have to tell Master Kenobi about it, and she didn't want to do that, she knew she had caused enough trouble already; helpless, Padmé changed into her nightgown and went to get some needed rest, and to come up with an idea on how she was going to find her weapon.

* * *

As Obi-Wan entered his room he bid Dex goodnight, and closed the door, he then got the Holo transmitter and made an encrypted call.

The image of a very beautiful woman about three years his junior, with long wavy blond hair, blue eyes and dressed in a white Jedi Tunic appeared, she was known as Jedi Knight, Siri Tachi

"_Hello, Ben" _she greeted_ "how did the investigation go tonight?" _she asked

"Well it was terrible, Siri, there were no Imperial soldiers there tonight" he answered

"_That's very strange; intelligence said that they gathered at that place almost every night" _she answered a little confused.

"Well, tonight was not one of those nights, we will try again tomorrow"

"_And how did my Padawan behave today?" _She asked with hopeful eyes

"Well… she only caused a small amount of trouble today" Obi-Wan said in hesitation

"_What kind of small trouble?" _The Jedi Knight asked

"Two guys started fighting over her… well not exactly two guys, more like a drunken old man trying to take advantage of her and another one about her age defending her"

"_That's not good"_ Siri answered with a little of a smirk in her face

"Siri, I think it would have been best if you would have come with her instead of me"

"_You know why both of you were picked for this, Ben, your physical appearance has changed a lot over this decade, and not a single Politian has seen Padmé since she was seven years old, no one will recognize either one of you" _she explained

"Well, she still draws a lot of attention and that is something dangerous"

"Well, Obi-Wan, what did you expect? She became a beautiful young woman" Siri said with a smile

"Yes that might be, but that beauty is turning more into a curse"

"_Give her a chance, Ben, you know she didn't grow up the same way the rest of us did"_

"I am, even though she has a few flaws, she is a very worthy apprentice, she listens is very good at diplomacy, and most importantly, she cares for the well-being of others before her own"

"_What did you expect? After all politics is in her blood"_

"As true as that might be, I think is best, for the girl's sake to keep old wounds closed"

"_Yes, I agree with you, anyway, how long do you think this mission will last?"_

"I don't know, it could be a couple of days, maybe even weeks, it all depends on the Imperial Soldiers"

"_Great!" _she replied with a sarcastic tone "_Please keep me informed, I would like to know how Padmé is doing"_

"Of course, and inform Master Yoda of tonight's affairs, but please do not mention the small incident with Padmé, I kind of promised her I wouldn't tell" Obi-Wan pleaded, he really was not in the mood to hear the council complain about the poor girl

"_Don't worry; I don't want them criticizing my Padawan any more than they already do"_

"Great, I'll contact you tomorrow for the report"

"_See you then Ben" _She answered, and a few moments later her image disappeared.

Obi-Wan really admired his best friend; how she had taken that young girl, even against the Council's wishes and has believed in her ever since, it was a very noble act Obi-Wan will never forget; he then decided that it had been too much excitement for one night, and went to get some sleep before the following day's affairs, he really hoped they would have a better outcome tomorrow than the one they had today.

* * *

The next day went by rather quickly, for the night was touching the horizon of the capital and by that time, the entire sun had set and the moons of Coruscant where all up, Obi-Wan and a disguised Padmé entered once again the establishment they had been in the previews night.

Padmé wore a black dress with thin straps, a blonde wig with long and wavy hair to hide her brown curls, and make up to change her entire appearance. And once again both Jedi went separate ways, and while Obi-Wan was looking for any leads on Imperial movements, Padmé was looking for her missing lightsaber, which was probably gone by now, but she had to try, for the only two Jedi that had actually been kind to her, she did not want to cause them any more trouble than she already had in past events…

* * *

_Imperial City- Lower Levels:_

Vader entered the establishment he had been at the previous night, he noticed that his Master had the troops working again tonight, probably to allow him to make his first move on the Jedi, he knew they were here, and they were probably being more discreet than the previews night.

As he looked for the girl he had mistaken as an angel, he started to bring the young boy he once was, from the darkest depths of his soul, and the Sith Lord he now was, into the abyss of that darkness, he knew this was necessary if he was to succeed, but it was easier said than done, his past self was buried deeply with memories he longed to forget, and if Anakin Skywalker was brought back, his memories would be brought back along with him.

'_I know you are around here somewhere' _he thought, as he made his way through the drunken people, '_she is probably wearing a disguise' _he told himself, he knew he could never forget those beautiful curly tresses and brown eyes.

* * *

Failure, that was the only word that came to Padmé's thoughts, she was a failure, she practically searched the filthy bar twice and so far, there was no sign of her weapon; she knew this was to be expected, but she was really hoping she was mistaken. She decided that after tonight's assignment was over, she was going to come clean to Master Kenobi, and she knew how disappointed he was going to be with her.

"Would you like a cup of Ardees?" The bartender asked as Padmé took a seat,

"Yes please, I'm going to need it." She said as she passed her hand through the blond wig in frustration, all she could think about was how she was going to tell her master how she failed her and her best friend, because besides her Master, Obi-Wan was the only one that treated her like one of their own…

"Make that two, please" she heard someone say, as he sat next to her; she was about to send to hell whoever was hitting on her, she was not in the mood tonight to deal with it, but what met her eyes left her speechless, it was the same boy from the previous night that came to her aide when no one else did… All she wondered was if he recognized her at all.

"Hello" was all he said to her, but like an idiot, she was still speechless… and after an awkward silence, she finally spoke

"Hello" she managed to say.

"You left in quite a hurry yesterday" he told her, in that instant Padmé knew that he indeed remembered her.

"You remember me?" She asked amazed, everyone that used to hit on her always forgot who she was as soon as she changed appearances.

"I would never forget someone like you" he said, as he stared into her amazing brown eyes, "especially after such a unique way of meeting" he continued with a smile

"How did you manage to find me?" she asked curiously

"I have my ways" was all he said, as he stretched his hand to hers

"Anakin Skywalker… A pleasure to meet you milady" She smiled and accepted his hand

"Padmé Amidala" she said as she shook his hand

"You seem troubled, Padmé" Anakin said

"Let's just say I am in quite a situation" she said a little frustrated

"Does that explain why you are wearing that wig?" he asked

"Yes, you could say that" she answered, as their drinks arrived,

He knew this was the moment to give back to her what she was looking for "Yesterday I found something that belongs to you, I was going to give it back to you, but you left very fast"

"What is it?" she curiously asked

"This…" he said, checking first that there was no one looking and he very carefully showed her the weapon

Padmé opened her eyes in surprise. HE… he found her weapon, from all the people in this place; he was the one that found it and was even giving it back to her.

"You found it?" she said both amazed and terrified of what he was going to do next.

"You are a Jedi aren't you?" He asked. Again she was speechless; her eyes gave her away though. "You can trust me" he said, she could see sincerity in Anakin's eyes, but could she really trust him?

"Yes I am" she answered, there was no point on denying it, he already knew, and even if he didn't, her reaction when he showed her the weapon was enough to confirm his suspicions.

"It's alright, Padmé, your secret is safe with me" Anakin assured her

"Really?" she asked, amazed and confused.

"Of course" he replied "I myself am not an Imperial fan" with that statement, Padmé checked her surroundings to make sure no one was looking. Very discreetly, she grabbed her weapon from the robe he had it hidden in, and hid it in her boot, this time making sure it was secure, she did not want to lose her lightsaber again.

"That's good to hear" she said with a smile…

* * *

Obi-Wan was doing regular checks on the establishment, but just like the previous night, there were no Imperial Soldiers. He sat on a near table, listening to the conversations going on around him, but there was nothing useful for him to use, it was just a bunch of drunks talking; but what he thought was even stranger... Padmé had not caused any trouble so far; in fact, he didn't even see anyone starting trouble on her behalf.

_'I wonder where she could be' _he thought, and decided to look for her before something actually happened, again… the last thing they needed right now was another show.

* * *

Anakin was mesmerized by the angel sitting in front of him; Vader however, knew better, all he was doing was following his Master's orders, he knew it was better not to reveal everything about Anakin's made up life to her right now, they were, after all, investigating for a few more days.

"I'm sorry, Anakin" she said suddenly "I have to go; Master Kenobi must be looking for me" she said regrettably.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" he asked with hope in his eyes.

"Of course" she answered with a smile, as she walked away from Anakin, with that smile plastered on her face, she walked around the establishment looking for Obi-Wan, she did not know where to find him, and he was probably looking for her too.

"There you are, Padmé" She heard him say through the noise of the music

"I was looking for you" he said, noticing the smile on her face, but didn't make anything out of it

"Sorry Master, I lost track of time, apparently there were no Imperials tonight either… I could not find any"

"So it seems… this is very strange, it's our second night here and they haven't showed up to the place they're supposed to frequent the most" Obi-Wan said, as he and the Padawan walked out of that dreadful place, for the second time during their mission and headed over to Dex's for the night.

* * *

_Imperial City- the Emperor's Office:_

Vader pushed Anakin back into the darkest depths of his soul, as he entered his Master's secret lair

"Master" he said in a deep voice as he vowed to the Sith Lord

"Rise my apprentice" Sidious said as he turned to face his apprentice "What do you have to report, Lord Vader?"

"I met with the Jedi apprentice today, Master, I am gaining her trust, it might be at a slow pace, but she will lead me towards the rest of the Jedi" the young Sith informed his master

"Good, good, my apprentice, tomorrow I will give the Jedi a reason to stay, I'm sending the troops back there to keep them occupied, giving you enough time to infiltrate yourself in their order by the time they get out of here"

"Yes, my lord" Vader said as he turned to leave

"Lord Vader" the Sith Lord called to his apprentice

"Yes Master?" he asked

"Do not fail me" He said, his yellow eyes the only thing the young Sith could see in his Master's face… with that, Darth Vader left the Emperor's office, he had a difficult task ahead of him. Not only was it difficult to bring his old self back into the light like tonight, but being around that Jedi, who was so different from anyone he has ever met presented a challenge to him, Every time he looked at her, Anakin Skywalker took control of him, and if he was to succeed, he could not let Anakin rule him, but he could not stop thinking about her, Vader saw it as physical attraction… But Anakin knew there was something else…


	4. Chapter 3: Deceiving Lies

**Disclaimer: Everything and Everyone in Star Wars belongs to George!**

Chapter 3: Deceiving Lies

_Imperial City- Republica 500:_

Vader arrived at the pen house that Emperor Palpatine provided for him when he became his apprentice; he hated this place and tried to avoid being here most of the time, but tonight he needed a place to think on the story he was to share with the Jedi about the made-up past of Anakin Skywalker.

When he turned the lights on of the spacious pen house he noticed that there was a pile of datapads on one of the table sets in the living area,

'_3PO must have left them there' _he thought. They were probably what little information his master managed to recover from the Jedi Archives, after he destroyed the Jedi Temple.

Vader made his way to the datapads to begin his research. He needed all he could get from Quinlan Vos, as well as the two Jedi he was to convince in order to achieve his mission…

* * *

_Imperial City- Dex's Restaurant:_

After their vigilance over the bar was over, Obi-Wan and Padmé arrived at Dex's place, just like the previews night. While Padmé went to sleep, still having that smile plastered on her face. Obi-Wan went to communicate with his best friend and fellow Jedi knight, Siri.

"_Hello, Ben, how did it go today?" _she asked, as her hologram appeared in front of Obi-Wan

"Hello Siri, if you must know, Padmé did surprisingly well today, we had no incidents" he answered to his friend

"_Well… that is great to hear!_" she answered with relief, excitement and a smile in her face.

"The only problem was that tonight was no different from yesterday, the Imperial Soldiers didn't show up today" Obi-Wan said in disappointment

"_I wonder what's keeping them" _she answered

"Are you sure that our spies got the correct information?"

"_Yes, the rebel leaders gave them to me personally"_

"Siri, we'll try again tomorrow night, but if the imperials don't show up, then we are wasting our time there, and it might be best to try a different establishment"

"_I agree with you, Obi-Wan. See what happens tomorrow and depending on that we can tell the council on the change of plans." _

After Obi-Wan told Siri his side of tonight's visit to the cantina, the two Jedi Knights talked for hours about old missions and their fondest memories before ending their conversation for the night to get some rest…

* * *

_Imperial City- Republica 500:_

As dawn approached over Coruscant's horizon, Vader didn't know if he should be confused or furious. He found all the information he needed about Quinlan Vos, including his darkest secret; apparently Master Vos was married and had a child named Korto. He now knew what to tell the Jedi when they asked him about his training,

He also found information on this Obi-Wan Kenobi, who he assumed was her Master, since she always mentioned a "Master Kenobi" what really had him upset, was that he couldn't find anything on her, the girl who captivated him since the first moment he saw her, Padmé Amidala; there were no records of her, not even a mere mention of her name in any of the information before him.

'_Probably her information was one of the few that got destroyed along with the rest of the temple'_ he thought. But there was still something within him that told him to keep an eye open, there was more to her story than met the eye.

He went back to review all the information as much as he could before night, where he would have to return to the cantina and slowly infiltrate within the Jedi…

* * *

_Imperial City- Lower Levels:_

Once the sun set under the massive buildings of Imperial City, as the two Jedi where on their way to their, so far, unsuccessful mission, the young Sith Lord made his way to the cantina he'd been at for the last two nights.

He noticed that the Imperial Soldiers where back as his master had promised, at least to keep the Jedi occupied for now, he knew his master had something planned later on for the Jedi, Sidious wanted them to leave Coruscant, the sooner they left, the sooner the Emperor would find out where they were hiding.

Once again he turned into Anakin, since the Jedi would be arriving soon. He let Anakin's emotions and memories wash over him, as his eyes turned from Sith yellow, to sapphire blue. He would greet her as Anakin Skywalker, and share the story of how he supposedly became a Jedi.

A few minutes later -after Vader… or known to Padmé as Anakin had arrived- the Jedi arrived too , both Obi Wan and Padmé were hoping that for once there might actually be an improvement on their mission, or something interesting to report, otherwise they might have to change locations to actually achieve something here.

Once they both entered, they were surprised to find some of the men wearing Imperial Uniforms after two nights of seeing none.

"I think tonight we might be in luck" Padmé mentioned to Obi-Wan.

"It's about time something interesting started to happen, things where too quiet to be true" Obi-Wan answered, as they entered. Obi wan turned to Padmé.

"Okay, Padmé, here is the plan," Obi Wan Said "as always, we go separate ways to cover more ground. Stay close enough to at least listen into their conversations, but don't get too close for them to notice you… I'm going to the bar and try to get information out of the scum here, meet up with me here half an hour before the cantina closes up"

"Understood Master, May the Force be with you" she said as they parted ways

"And with you too, Padmé" Obi-Wan Said as he headed towards the bar.

Padmé walked around the gambling sites, she was listening to the conversations around her.

"Can you believe the emperor made us work for two days straight? I was starting to miss the ladies around here" one Imperial officer said

"Yeah I know what you mean, working on that Station was exhausting!" another answered

"Man, keep your voices down! We don't want the wrong people listening" a third officer said as they continued their useless conversation, talking about drinking and women. Padmé was about to move towards another conversation, when someone tapped her back, she was about to hit that person out of reflex, but her hand was stopped before it could make contact with his face, she soon realized her mistake when she looked into Anakin's eyes, meeting him for the third time in three nights.

"Hello" he said with a smile, still holding her hand

"Hi… oh sorry" she said as he released her hand

"It's okay… I would also be as cautious if I where you" he answered and pretended to notice the Imperial soldiers.

"Looks like they finally showed up" he mentioned

"It was about time they did, apparently they are helping their beloved emperor with some sort of weapon" she said, as they went to a nearby table and sat there to talk.

"Do you know what weapon it is?" he asked, hoping she didn't, or those soldiers would be filling three more graves in behalf of Palpatine.

"No… apparently some of these Imperials are not as stupid as one thinks they are, they mentioned it but they did not go into any details."

"Hmm, maybe if you read the mind of a Storm Trooper you might get more information" he suggested, knowing she wouldn't find anything.

"I never thought of that before"

"That's because the Storm Troopers are so insignificant, that no one really thinks they have any information at all"

"Good point" she said "You know Anakin, you are very unique, I've never met someone like you" she commented

"Thanks" he answered

"I mean, you helped me even knowing the risks of giving me my weapon back" she said

"Like I told you yesterday… it was no problem, plus I'm not really an Imperial sympathizer, and I will do all that I can to help one of my own" he lied

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously at his last remark

"I didn't really get a chance to tell you yesterday, Padmé," he said, "When I was a boy a Jedi Master found me and trained me, I'm a Jedi too."

"What?" she exclaimed, "You are also a Jedi?" she asked quietly

"Yes, I was the Padawan of Master Quinlan Vos" he said

"I didn't know Master Vos took another Padawan, after the Jedi purge no one ever saw him again, many Jedi said that they felt him die, I never met him myself"

"If you have time, I can tell you everything'' he said,

"Yes please, go ahead." She answered as he began his made up story,

"I met Master Vos when I was eight years old" he lied "After he, his wife Khaleen and three-year old child, Korto crash landed on my home planet of Tatooine, but the Empire followed them to the Outer rim; Master Vos took me in and trained me on the Jedi arts" he explained "he said that I had great potential in the Force and trained me as his Padawan" he explained

"What happened then?" She asked

"A few years ago, the empire finally caught up to us, and while he and I were doing our morning training they managed to capture Master Vos' family, they set a trap for him and they killed him along with his wife and son" he finished explaining

"I'm sorry" she Said

"It's alright, I managed to escape from Tatooine and I came to Imperial City to acquire as much information as possible to help the rebellion when the time came" he lied

Could this really be happening? Another Jedi on the core of the Galactic Empire, Anakin had to come with them, Padmé didn't feel anything out of place in him. For now she would inform Obi-Wan of this. "You need to come with us, Anakin," she said "if you are a Jedi, specially one such as Master Vos' apprentice, then you need to be with us to complete your training"

"But, I am not sure if your master would allow me to join, or even trust me" he commented.

"Master Kenobi is not my master, but he is a very open minded Jedi, and he will agree once he meets you" she answered, as she grabbed his arm and they both went to find Obi-Wan

"If you say so" he commented as Padmé dragged him all the way to the bar…

* * *

Obi-Wan was sitting at the bar listening to conversations around him, apparently the Imperial soldiers were being more careful today, since they just got back, all they were talking about was getting drunk and who would get more women. Hopefully the Padawan had better results investigating.

"Another drink sir?" The bartender asked

"No thank you my friend, I think I had enough drinks for one night" he answered in his sophisticated accent.

He got up from the bar to see if he could acquire information from another source before meeting with Padmé and leaving for the night, but as soon as he left the bar, he saw the Padawan coming his way with a young man that looked very familiar, he just couldn't remember from where. He went straight to them, and Padmé could see the questioning look on Obi-Wan's face and the soon-to-come lecture from him.

"Hello Master Kenobi" she said, as Obi-Wan crossed his arms, looking at Anakin and then back at Padmé.

"Who is this, Padmé?" he asked

"Anakin Skywalker, sir, pleased to meet you" Anakin said extending his hand to Obi-Wan, the Jedi shook his hand.

"That is why I came to find you, Master; I met him two days ago and it turns out he is one of us" she tried to explain, knowing she couldn't be too obvious in a public place.

"One of us?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes Master" she said.

"We need to finish discussing this issue later, Padmé, we are not finished here and we can't leave now" Obi-Wan said "Meet me at the speeder in about two hours and we may talk there" he said as he walked away

"That went better than I expected" she said with a cheering smile

"Mmmm-hm, if you say so… But I think getting to him will be a little harder than I thought" he said

"Cheer up; at least he is willing to listen to you"

"What if he doesn't believe me?" he asked

"He will, like I do, he will search your feeling and know you are telling the truth, Obi-Wan is more open minded than he lets on" she explained

"I hope you are right" Anakin said as he helped her investigate a little more for the next two hours before speaking with the Jedi Knight, Vader felt confident, he had his dark side locked up tight in the deepest, darkest place in his mind. He knew that tricking the Padawan had been easy, but he needed to be more careful with the Master, as long as Anakin was in control for now, everything would turn out as planned.

Anakin and Padmé left the establishment to meet with Obi-Wan in the speeder as he had told them to.

"Hop in" he said.

"Where are we going?" Anakin asked.

"Some place where we can talk, Imperial city has ears almost everywhere" Obi-Wan answered, as they went to Dex's Diner, the only place Obi-Wan knew they could talk openly about everything, once they arrived they took one of the tables in the back

"Okay, now, Padmé, can you please explain to me what is going on?" Obi-Wan asked

"It's a long story, Master, I met Anakin the first night we went to that place, and he was one of the two guys involved in that fight"

"That was you?" Obi-Wan asked Anakin

"Yes" He answered

"That is why you looked so familiar… but, what does this have to do with anything Padmé?"

"Master, Anakin is one of us" she said

"What do you exactly mean with 'One of us' Padmé?" Obi-Wan asked.

"He is also a Jedi, Master" Padmé answered, Obi-Wan looked very confused but he didn't let it show

"What makes you think he's a Jedi, Padmé?" he asked

"He told me, Master, and I believe him after what he did for me" she answered honestly

"You mean the fight at that Cantina?"

"No Master, I didn't tell you, but after we left in the first night, I accidentally dropped my lightsaber and he found it and gave it back the other night"

"You lost your weapon and you didn't tell me?" Obi-Wan exclaimed

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you, but I wanted to look for it first before causing you any trouble" she tried to explain

"Still, Padmé, you should have told me" he said

"I know Master, and I'm really sorry" she replied shamefully

"We will discuss that later, for now, I want to know about you, Anakin"

"Of course Master Kenobi" he answered

"Tell me, Anakin, if you are a Jedi, where is your Master?" Obi-Wan asked

"My master is deceased, he was named Quinlan Vos" Anakin answered

"You were one of Master Vos' apprentices?" Obi-Wan asked surprised

"Yes sir, he found me when the Empire took over" he said

"You are a late Padawan aren't you?"

"Yes, Master Vos landed on Tatooine with his wife and son, and trained me in the Jedi arts until a few years ago when the Empire finally caught up with Master Vos, they used his family against him and they all got murdered, I managed to escape Tatooine and come here" he lied

"Hmm… I think I've heard enough for tonight… Anakin, we will meet you again tomorrow night, but first I must discuss this issue with the council, I believe you, but I'm afraid it's not just my decision to make" Obi-Wan answered regrettably

"Hey, say no more Master, I understand, and thanks for listening to me, I will meet you tomorrow at the same place, May the force be with you" he told the two Jedi

"And with you my young friend" Obi-Wan said, as the young Jedi left Dex's diner

"What you did was very risky, Padmé; he could have been an Imperial spy" Obi-Wan lectured

"I know Master and I'm sorry, but he saw me drop my weapon and gave it back, I searched his feelings before doing anything," she explained

"Lucky for you, Padmé, nothing here went wrong, I too searched his feeling and I didn't find anything out of the ordinary" Obi Wan said

"Do you think the Jedi will accept?" she asked hopefully

"I really don't know" he said

"I think they will. I mean, if they agreed to take me in, then why not Anakin who is a real Jedi" She said

"It's not the same case for both of you, we knew who you were, Padmé, we have no idea who Anakin is."

"I guess we'll wait until tomorrow" she said

"Yes. Right now we should tell Siri of tonight's events" he said as they both got up and left to communicate with Siri…

* * *

_Imperial City- the Emperor's Office:_

As Anakin made his way to the Emperor's office, he pulled Vader out from the abyss of darkness and sunk Anakin in it once again. He walked down the secret passage of the Sith's lair, and stopped dead in his tracks when he felt Darth Maul's presence, the real Sith apprentice was here.

Vader hid behind a pillar waiting for the Sith apprentice to leave so he could talk to his Master, to know about the next step on the plan, if everything was to work out as planned, Vader needed the complete trust of his Master.

"The construction of the Death Star is almost complete my Master" he heard Maul say

"Good, Darth Maul, finally after all these years, we can finally use our ultimate weapon to destroy those who stand in our way" Sidious said evilly "while the Death Star is completed, I need you my apprentice, to send Ventress to look for the Princess of Naboo, I do not need some girl interfering with my plans, especially in my home planet"

"It will be done my Master… and what about the Jedi, my Lord?" Darth Maul asked

"I already have an agent taking care of that, he will locate the Temple and when the time comes, we will attack the remainder Jedi" he sneered evilly "you are dismissed Darth Maul"

"I will report to you my lord as soon as Ventress finds something on the girl" The Sith said, as he walked out

"You may come in, Lord Vader" Sidious told his secret apprentice, as the young Sith walked in

"My Lord" he said as he vowed to his Master

"What do you have to report my apprentice?" Sidious asked, as Vader stood up.

"I have made contact with the Jedi Master, they bought the story I told them and will tell me tomorrow if I can go with them" he informed his Master

"Good, good… I have created an entire clone legion just for you, my apprentice, they are the 501 legion and they are at your service lord Vader; they will answer only to you"

"Thank you My Master… I must inform you that one of our Soldiers spilled our little secret, the Padawan heard him talk about our weapon, but she wasn't able to get any of the details on it, another of our soldiers shut the other one up before that could happen"

"Good to hear, I will take care of this soldier, one who talks in public cannot be trusted, but as long as the Jedi don't know the details, we can manage to hide the Death Star until it's too late for the Jedi to react"

"As you wish My Lord" Vader answered, as he prepared to leave his Master's lair, and wait on the decision of the so called Jedi Council…

* * *

_Imperial City- Obi-Wan's room:_

The image of Jedi Knight, Siri Tachi appeared in front of Obi-Wan and Padmé.

"_Hello Obi Wan, and hello to you Padmé" _she greeted them both with a smile

"Hello Siri" Obi-Wan said

"Hello Master" Padmé greeted

"_It's good to hear from both of you, and it's good to see you my Padawan, how are you doing?" _She asked Padmé.

"I think I've reduced Master Kenobi's headaches" she said with a light chuckle, causing Siri to laugh a little

"_So, what do you two have to report?" _she asked

"Two things actually, Siri" Obi-Wan said

"_Well, don't keep me in suspense, what did you find?" _she curiously asked

"The first is that the Imperial soldiers showed up today" Obi-Wan said

"_Well, that's good to hear, did you manage to find anything?"_

"Yes Master, we don't have much detail on it, but I overheard some soldiers talking about a weapon the empire is building" Padmé told her Master

"_That is troubling to say the least, I will inform the council tonight but please keep your eyes open to any information we can get from this… what is the other thing you guys want to discuss?"_

"Siri, we found another Jedi, or at least that's what he says he is" Obi-Wan explained

"_Another Jedi on Coruscant… I mean, Imperial City?"_

"Yes, he is the Padawan of Master Quinlan Vos" Obi-Wan answered

"_I thought Master Vos was dead"_

"Yes he is, the boy told us how his Master died, I searched his feeling and I couldn't find treachery in him, but before we do anything, I want to inform Master Yoda about him"

"_Don't worry, Obi-Wan, I will inform Master Yoda as soon as possible and I will contact you in the morning" _Siri said

"Thanks, Siri" Obi-Wan answered

"_No problem, I must leave to inform the council about this weapon and about the boy, I will contact you in the morning, Obi-Wan… and Padmé" _she called to her Padawan

"Yes Master?" she asked

"_Try to stay out of trouble" _she said with a smirk

"I will try my best" she answered with a smile, as the image of Siri faded,

Padmé left for her room, hoping that the Council would at least consider testing Anakin instead of just casting him out of the Jedi.

What no one knew was that the decision the Jedi council made tonight, would influence the future of the galaxy…


	5. Chapter 4: Infiltration

**Disclaimer: Everything and Everyone in Star Wars belongs to George!**

Chapter 4: Infiltration

_Dantooine- Hidden Jedi Temple:_

As soon as she ended her conversation with Obi-Wan and Padmé, Siri made her way through the halls of the temple to the Communications' Area to contact the High Jedi Council, who were probably waiting for her report.

For the last twelve years the remaining Jedi wanted to ensure the survival of the Jedi Order, and in order to do so, they separated into different temples in case the empire was to discover one of them, the remaining temples would ensure the survival of the Jedi.

Siri bowed as the faces of the Jedi Masters appeared in front her.

"_Greetings my apprentice, we've been waiting for your report" _Greeted Jedi master, Adi Gallia.

"Greetings Masters, I have news from Knight Kenobi" she answered

"_Important it must be, young Siri, since spoken in the less than twenty-four hours we have" _Grand Jedi Master, Yoda said

"It sounded very important to me when we last spoke, Master" She said, referring to Obi-Wan.

"_Then by all means" _Said Master Windu _"you may proceed, Siri"_

"Very well, Masters," she answered "Obi-Wan informed me that the Empire is building some sort of weapon against the Alliance, they don't know what it is yet, since the Imperials are keeping quiet about it, but they will keep their eyes open to find out more about this"

"_Very well, Siri. The sooner they find more information about it, the more prepared we will all be to confront whatever the Empire wants to throw at us, plus we'll inform the alliance so that their spies are prepared in case they too hear something"_ Windu answered

"_More to say do you, Siri?" _Yoda asked. There was definitely nothing that got unnoticed by Yoda.

"Yes Masters, as a matter of fact, I do" she answered

"_Then proceed, you may" _

"Aside from the weapon, Obi-Wan and Padmé found another Jedi on Imperial City" she said, shocking even Grand Master, Yoda.

"_Who did they find?" _Adi Galia asked in disbelief, for the last decade they hadn't heard from any survivor to order 66 and the Jedi purge; other than the ones that escaped with the Masters of the council.

"He is Master Vos' Padawan, or at least that is what he says he is"

"_That is impossible, Master Vos died in the Jedi Purge" _Mace said

"Obi-Wan told me that he's a late Padawan and that he searched the boy's feelings and found no treachery, but he doesn't want to take any action until he hears from the council" Siri explained, purposely not mentioning any more details about Anakin.

"_Disturbing… this is!" _Yoda said, lifting his ears. Had Quinlan Vos shield his presence all this years? Or did he truly die? "_Meet him, we must"_

"_Master Yoda, are you sure that is wise?" _Master Windu asked

"_Yes, learn the truth, we must" _with that statement the rest of the council nodded their heads in agreement.

"I will inform Obi-Wan of your decision, Masters and contact you once he brings the Padawan."

"_Very well then, this meeting is adjourned"_ Master Windu announced. The images of the council members faded. Siri then sent a message to Obi-Wan informing him of the Council's decision to meet Anakin in order to confirm that he was in fact a Jedi.

"Obi-Wan" she said "The council has made the decision to interview the boy, contact him as soon as possible in order to address this issue with the council; I'll be waiting for your transmission" and with that she sent the encrypted message to her friend in Imperial City.

* * *

_Imperial City- Dex's Diner:_

The following morning, after Obi-Wan finished his meditation, he noticed that there was an encrypted message in his comlink, he quickly cracked the password and his friend's recording appeared in front of him.

"_Obi-Wan" _she said_ "The council has made the decision to interview the boy, contact him as soon as possible in order to address this issue with the council; I'll be waiting for your transmission" _

As her image disappeared, Obi-Wan then began to record his own message

"Siri," he said "Contact the High council and tell them that I will bring the boy tonight so that we may have this issue resolved as soon as possible."

As soon as he sent the message, he made his way to Padmé's room.

* * *

Padmé came out of the refresher dressed in a white tunic, a maroon belt and pants with black boots, she had her hair down except for a delicate headband with both maroon and white colors on it. She made her way to her travel case and from a small box she retrieved a small ring consisting of a sapphire crystal, it no longer fit in her finger since it was too small.

Suddenly she heard a knock at her door; she put the tiny ring in her travel case again and opened the door, revealing it to be Obi-Wan on the other side.

"Good morning, Master Kenobi." She greeted

"Good morning, Padawan"

"Come in Master. Do you need anything?" she asked as Obi-Wan stepped in the room

"Actually, yes I do. Sorry to disturb you so early, Padmé, but I was wondering if you have Anakin's comlink code."

"Yes Master, he gave it to me yesterday. Do you need it?" she asked

"Actually, can you send him a message telling him that tonight the council wishes to speak with him?"

"Of course, I'll get to it right away" she answered as Obi-Wan left.

She took her own comlink out and recorder the message. "Anakin, sorry to intrude at such an early hour, but I have news from Master Kenobi. He informed me that the Council is willing to meet up with you tonight after the assignment in the Cantina is over. Be ready" with that she sent her message to Anakin.

_Imperial City- Republica 500:_

* * *

After a dreadful sleep, like the ones that assaulted him the few nights he slept. Vader awoke to the sound of his Comlink, like always he thought it was probably the Emperor demanding him to finish some errand for him, but to his surprise, as soon as he opened the message, he saw Padmé; she looked astonishing in white, just like the first night he met her, he didn't know what was it about this woman that made him forget about his teachings as a Sith.

"_Anakin, sorry to intrude at such an early hour, but I have news from Master Kenobi. He informed me that the Council is willing to meet up with you tonight after the assignment in the Cantina is over. Be ready"_

That was all she sent, yet he was glad that she at least sent him something.

'_Focus!' _he told himself, as he grabbed his lightsaber and headed straight to what used to be the Senate building in the times of the Republic, and into the Emperor's office. Since it was daytime, there was no need for him to sneak there.

"Master" Vader said as he bowed to Sidious, who today was wearing his red robe, which didn't make him look as pale as his dark robes did.

"Welcome my apprentice" Sidious answered as he turned to face Vader "what brings you at such an early hour, Lord Vader?"

"I have news, my Master" he said standing up. "I have a meeting with the Jedi Council tonight."

As he faced the window, Sidious answered, "Good to hear, your accuracy in this mission has been most pleasing"

"Thank you, Master… if everything goes right on that meeting, by tomorrow I would have infiltrated the Jedi successfully" he said

"Then you are going to need this" Sidious said as he got out from his robe a sapphire colored crystal. "This is a crystal that comes from the unknown planet where the Jedi build their weapons" he continued as he handed the crystal to Vader "Use it to build your Jedi sword, I don't think the Jedi will approve of you carrying the blade of a Sith Lord"

"I will work on it right away, Master." Vader said as he turned to leave

"And Vader…" Sidious called, as his apprentice turned towards his Master "I suggest you keep me updated via comlink from now on… if everything keeps going as planned, then you might leave Imperial City when you least expect it."

"It will be done, My Master." with that, the young Sith Lord turned and left his Master's office for what seemed the last time in a very long time, and for that he was grateful. His last comment unnerved him a little, did Palpatine have something planned for the Jedi? Or was that just a meaningless comment?

* * *

_Imperial City- Republica 500:_

Once Vader arrived to his pen house, he was greeted by C-3PO

"Oh, good morning Master Ani! May I get anything for you?" the droid asked, it didn't bother Vader that the droid used his real name, after all it was the name given by his mother and the name in which the droid was constructed.

"No 3PO, thank you" he answered. Even though, Vader was a Sith, C-3PO was the only one he considered a friend and who he actually cared about- he'd been lucky that the Emperor had allowed him to keep the droid; The thought of Vader having a servant seemed rather amusing to the Emperor.

Vader retrieved the crystal from his cloak and took some lightsaber pieces out in order to construct his new Jedi weapon; he knew that in order to continue being Darth Vader and not risking his identity being discovered by the Jedi, he was to keep two lightsabers, one for Anakin and the other for Vader.

He sat on the floor in the middle of the social area and before he knew it, he was in a trance-like state…

_He was in the caves of a distant planet; the same one he'd been to when he built his first lightsaber, everything seemed to be going according to plan. _

_While he was constructing his weapon, however, there was a dark vision, he saw his Master- how much he loathed the Sith Lord. _

_Before he knew it, Sidious activated his lightsaber and moved to an attack position._

_Anakin ignited his own lightsaber, but this time, instead of it being red, it was a blue one. _

"_You are weak" he kept saying "you will never manage to defeat me, Anakin!" he continued, using his real name_

_As tired as he felt, he battled his Master, both of their lightsabers where in a deadlock. _

"_You failed her, Anakin" Sidious kept taunting. But Anakin managed to overpower Sidious; the Sith Lord turned and met Anakin's saber again; the young Jedi lost no time and stopped his Master's attack; All he could hear was the sinister, evil laugh coming from his Master while he faced him in the duel, but Anakin was more than determined to destroy the man who ruined his life. _

_Both of them were in a deadlock once again, Sidious was stronger than Anakin imagined. The Sith lord kept taunting him, and before Anakin knew it, lightning came out of the Sith's fingers; the young Jedi managed to block it with his lightsaber, but Sidious used the force to push Anakin, now on the ground he lost his lightsaber in the darkness of the cave; now unarmed he was vulnerable to the Sith's attacks._

"_And now it is your demise 'Lord Vader'" Just as Sidious moved his weapon to spear Anakin through the chest, Anakin stopped Sidious lightsaber in mid attack as he moved out of the way and speared the Sith with his own weapon. He felt no remorse, no guilt, just a great amount of satisfaction for defeating his specter…_

Vader awoke in the twilight of day to find that he had finished construction of his new lightsaber; the blade was a shining blue, just like the Crystal given to him and the one he'd seen on his vision. He had enough time to get ready in order to make his appearance in the Cantina.

* * *

_Imperial City- Lower Levels:_

It was already nighttime when the two Jedi arrived at the Cantina for the fourth night, and just like the previous one, the imperial soldiers where back, though not as many as the night before.

Padmé had changed from her tunic to an olive green dress that came down to mid-thigh, dark boots and her wig from the last two nights, and Obi-Wan was dressed in civilian clothes.

"While your friend arrives, Padmé, let's see if we can get anything out of the soldiers" Obi-Wan suggested

"Yes Master" she answered. This time they went together to eavesdrop on the Imperials, "Master" Padmé called quietly "what if we try to probe a stormtrooper's mind?" she asked

Obi-Wan thought about it for a moment, "It is not a bad idea, Padmé, but it is very risky, stormtroopers aren't usually aware of what is going on because they have no interest in betraying their leader, we might end up with nothing" he concluded

"Or maybe we are underestimating the vital information in a trooper because we think of them as useless"

"If the opportunity presents itself, young one, then we will try that, but for now let's just focus on the ones we have here" he said referring to the soldiers, she nodded in response as they both sat on a table right behind the Imperials listening to conversations.

In the table adjacent to the one where Obi-Wan and Padmé where sitting at, four Imperial Officers sat, each of them with a drink at hand, all of them were probably drunk already.

"So, I thought we were off duty for a couple of days" they heard one of the officers say

"Yeah, so what's this big thing we have to do two nights from now?" another one asked

"We have to personally ship materials for the Emperor's weapon into the shuttle so that it may be taken to the secret location" The one that seemed to be the leader of the small group answered

"I hear that this weapon is capable of destroying an entire planet once it is complete" one commented

"So says the rumor, we'll find out once it is completed" commented the leader.

Both Obi-Wan and Padmé looked at each other with eyes wide open, but recovered quickly. "Did you hear that, Padmé?" he exclaimed quietly

"This is worse than we thought!" she whispered

"We need to find out what this weapon is, FAST!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, as they both continued to listen, but no more vital information was said by the imperial soldiers, apparently they were not drunk enough to spill it.

A few moments later, Vader walked into the cantina. The Jedi where probably here already here, all he had to do was find them.

"Let's split up, Padmé, it is vital that we learn the location of this weapon as soon as possible," Obi-Wan said

"I agree, Master," she answered as they both walked to opposite ends of the cantina.

Anakin made his way towards Padmé when he spotted her among the crowd; it was a little harder to find her since she was in a disguise that hid her true beauty.

She saw him too her expression relaxing a little, though he didn't seem to notice as she walked towards him.

"It's nice to see you again" she said

"What?" he answered "No attacks today?" He said smiling

Her smile was radiant "No, I think I'm getting used to you surprising me." She said

"I got your message" he said, changing the subject

"Are you ready?"

"Yes… at least I think I am"

"You'll do fine, Anakin. Don't worry" she said "Hey do you want to help me investigate before we have to meet with Master Kenobi?"

"It'll be my pleasure; lead the way" that's the way they went for the next few hours, listening to Imperial soldiers who didn't really say anything important for the rest of the night until it was finally time for them to meet with Obi-Wan.

"Anakin, good to see you; I assume you received Padmé's message?" Obi-Wan greeted

"Yes sir, I'm ready to meet them" Anakin answered, not being too specific, since there where ears everywhere

"Then let's not waste any more time" Obi-Wan answered as he led both Padmé and Anakin towards the speeder and to Dex's Diner.

* * *

_Imperial city- Dex's diner:_

Once there, Dex closed the establishment to give his friends some privacy.

"Dex," Obi-Wan called "I would like you to meet Anakin Skywalker" as Anakin extended his arm to Dex.

"Pleased to meet ya, lad" Dex said as they both shook hands

"Likewise" Anakin answered

"Anakin here, is Quinlan's Protégé" Obi-Wan said

"You found another Jedi here, on Imperial City? Wow Ben, I'm impressed!"

"I was as surprised as you are; but we'll talk about that later, right now we are expected by the council"

"Hey don't let me keep you from talking to them" he said "Anakin, I wish you the best of luck"

"Thank you, sir" He answered politely

"No problem, and call me Dex kid" he said as he retired for the evening.

Both Anakin and Padmé waited outside Obi-Wan's room while he talked with the Council. Padmé had changed into more comfortable clothes to address the council and had removed the wig as well and Obi-Wan changed into his Jedi attire.

Obi-Wan waited patiently for the image of his friend to appear in order to speak with the council. And soon enough her image appeared.

"_Hello, Obi-Wan"_ she said

"Hello, Siri" he greeted

"_Hold on, let me patch you through with the council" _and within a few seconds the images of the seven remaining members of the High Jedi Council appeared in front of Obi-Wan as did Siri's picture.

"Greetings Masters" Obi-Wan said as he bowed respectfully to them

"_Greetings Knight Kenobi; going well your mission is?"_ Grand Master Yoda asked

"Yes Masters, actually before I call the boy in, I was wondering if we could discuss something Padawan Amidala and I discovered today"

Yoda looked around the room _"Proceed you may" _he answered

Obi-Wan took a deep breath "Masters, the weapon the Emperor is building is more dangerous than we thought, today we overheard officers talking, and while this mystery weapon is still in construction, once completed it will have the power to destroy an entire planet."

Obi-Wan could see the shocked faces of all the Masters and even from Siri.

"_Knight Kenobi," _said Master Mundi _"if what you say is true, then we must take immediate action"_

"_Yes, agree with Master Mundi I do"_

"They did mention that they are to supervise a shipment in two nights, if we destroy it, then that might buy us more time"

"_I think it is vital that we discuss this with the leaders of the alliance, they might already have spies infiltrated within Imperial ranks who may provide us with more information" _Siri mentioned

"_My Padawan has a point" _Adi Gallia mentioned

"_Talk with the alliance we will, but vital to delay construction of the Emperor's weapon it is!" _Yoda said. As they concluded the first part of their meeting.

Yoda looked at Shaak Ti and nodded _"You may send the boy in Obi-Wan" _She said

* * *

_Imperial City- Dex's Diner:_

"What do you think they are talking about?" Anakin curiously asked

"Beats me, every time my Master or Obi-Wan speak with the council, the Padawans wait outside until we are called in" she answered

"Tell me about the High Jedi Council"

"Master Vos never taught you about the Jedi Council?" she asked a little confused

Anakin saw the error he just made and quickly recovered "He did… I just don't know which ones are still alive"

Padmé didn't make anything out of it "Oh, right; well after the Empire took over, the number of council members reduced from twelve to seven, they are Masters Yoda, Mace Windu, Kia-Di Mundi, Plo Koon, Kit Fisto, Shaak Ti, and Adi Gallia."

Before Anakin could ask any more questions, Obi-Wan opened the door. "You may come in, Anakin." He said

"Good luck" Padmé said; her smile was reassuring to him.

He walked in the room with Obi-Wan and was met with the images of the seven council members and of another Jedi knight; he recognized some of them through the information of some of the archives Darth Sidious gave him. He had his mind shields up; it was time to infiltrate the Jedi.

Master Yoda was first to speak _"Welcome young one"_

"Greetings Masters" he said as he bowed respectfully.

"_What is your name young one?"_ Master Ti asked

"Anakin Skywalker" he answered, as the Masters remained silent for a moment

"_A Midichlorian count he needs" _Yoda said simply.

"_Master, are you sure?" _Adi Gallia asked

"_Strong with the Force, young Skywalker is" _Yoda stated. Anakin just looked at the green Jedi, he'd heard of Midichlorians but wasn't exactly sure what Midichlorians where.

At this point Obi-Wan exited the room and Siri ended her transmission so that the Jedi masters could test Anakin.

"_Tell us young Skywalker" _Master Windu said _"when did you begin your training?"_

"Around twelve years ago, Master" he answered

"_I'm assuming you began your training late?" _

"Yes sir"

"_Under the teachings of Master Quinlan Vos?"_

"Yes"

"_Please, proceed to explain how you came about Master Vos" _Master Fisto said

"Master Vos told me that he was escaping from the Empire when he landed on my home planet, Tatooine. He told me that I had a great potential and took me under his wing; he trained me for around seven years before the empire found him and killed him, I managed to escape and came here to acquire information from the empire." He lied

"_Know more about Master Vos do you? Hmm"_ Yoda asked

"I know that he was not the most orthodox Jedi in history; with all due respect I know he broke the code, because he had a wife and son who died with him"

The masters where silent for a moment. It was true that Quinlan Vos had broken the code, for they found out a few days before the Jedi purge, he came clean to them and told them and that is why they got separated from the Jedi Master the day Order 66 was executed.

Anakin saw the masters looking at each other and nodding

_"We have decided to give you the benefit of the doubt. We will allow Knight Kenobi to take your Midichlorian count in order to make a final decision."_

"Understood masters, I'll communicate Obi-Wan right away" He said, as the images of the Jedi Council disappeared for the time being. Anakin walked outside where both Obi-Wan and Padmé waited patiently.

"How did it go?" Obi-Wan asked

"They asked for the Midichlorian count first before making a final decision."

"Well then, let's not waste any time" Obi-Wan said as they all went to his room where he started the transmission with Siri again.

"_So, how did it go?"_ she asked as her image appeared

"We need a Midichlorian count before they decide anything"

"_Figures" _she commented _"I don't believe they've introduced us yet" _she said, referring to Anakin.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan called "this is Jedi knight, Siri Tachi. Siri this is Anakin Skywalker"

"_Nice to meet you" _she said nicely

"Likewise, knight Tachi."

"_Please, as long as we are friends, you may call me Siri." _She turned to Obi-Wan. _"So, how may I be of any help?"_

"I need you to analyze the blood sample once I send it in"

"_Alright"_

Obi-Wan led both Anakin and Padmé inside and motioned for Anakin to sit on a nearby chair. He retrieved a small vial and a new needle.

"Are you ready?"

"Sure, let's get this over with" he responded as he pulled one of his dark sleeves up. Obi-Wan took a small blood sample, retrieved his comlink and connected the small vial to it. He sent the test to Siri.

"_Hold on" _she said as she turned one of the machines in the lab on.

"_No way!" _was what they heard come from Siri's mouth

"What is it, Master?" Padmé asked

"_The readings are off the chart…. Over twenty-thousand!" _she exclaimed

Obi-Wan opened his eyes for what seemed like the second shock in one night "What! Siri, are you sure?"

"_Yes, there is no doubt, the machines are functioning properly."_

Finally Anakin couldn't hold the curiosity any longer. "Is that bad?" he asked Padmé quietly

"Bad? Anakin, that's amazing!" she exclaimed

"Alright" Obi-Wan said, talking to Siri "send the results over to the Jedi council"

"_No problem, I will enjoy their reaction" _she said, as her image disappeared. And minutes later, the hologram of the High Jedi Council appeared once again.

"_We have just received the results from the midichlorian count." _Mace Windu said _"these readings are off the charts! Are you sure is accurate?" _he asked Siri.

"_Yes master, I'm one-hundred percent sure" _she said

"_Strong in the force, young Skywalker is." _Yoda said calmly

The council members where silent for a moment until they made a decision _"We have decided that we will allow Anakin to become a Jedi, he will finish his training in the temples, we will discuss it further once all of you come back from Imperial city."_

"Very well Masters" Obi-Wan said as all three of them bowed to the council.

The hologram of the Jedi disappeared and deep down Vader was relieved; lying to seven Jedi masters turned out to be easier than expected.

"Welcome aboard, Anakin." Obi-Wan said.

"Thank you, master Kenobi" he said

"I think that it would be wise for all three of us to stay close together while our assignment ends, do you think you can stay here?"

"Of course, all I need to do is get my things and I'll come tomorrow"

"Alright, until then." Obi-Wan said as they both bowed to each other. "Padmé," Obi-Wan called

"Yes Master?" she said as she moved forward

"Accompany him to the entrance and give him this." Obi-Wan said as he gave her keys to one of the speeders

"Of course" she said as both of them left Obi-Wan's room.

"I am glad they accepted you, Anakin, you really deserve it" Padmé said as they walked to the entrance of the diner.

He looked down "I don't know about that"

"But the rest of us do; you are special." She stated

"You think so?" he asked

She smiled "of course, Anakin"

"You are special too" he said honestly as they reached the entrance. Obi-Wan let Anakin borrow one of the speeders since he came with them to the diner.

"I'll see you tomorrow" he said. There was an awkward silence between both of them, finally Anakin spoke up.

"Good night, Padmé." He said as he got on the speeder and flew away

"Good night, Anakin." She said quietly as she walked inside…


	6. Chapter 5: Prelude

Chapter 5: Prelude

For a long time after leaving the small diner, Darth Vader sat motionless in the idling speeder, resting his head on his right hand

His thoughts rested on how easy it had been to deceive the Jedi._ 'Can the Jedi really be that ignorant?' _he thought.

But why wouldn't they?

He knew Palpatine had interacted with them for years as a Senator and later as the Chancellor, and the Jedi never knew he was deceiving them until it was too late. So why should his situation be any different? He doubted the Jedi had changed at all in the last twelve years; they were too arrogant to admit their ways no longer where functional; but still, he would have precaution, he knew the Jedi probably didn't trust him yet, and with good reason.

Vader saw the speeder's comm screen blinking and knew who was at the other side; The Emperor.

He reluctantly answered and after a moment the screen lit up with an image of Darth Sidious in his black hood. _"Lord Vader; are you available this evening?" _Palpatine´s image simply asked.

'_What is Palpatine up to know?' _he wondered. "Yes my lord" He answered. Palpatine had been clear that they were not going to meet in person until he finished his assignment.

"_Meet me at the Senate's landing platform" _Sidious said and smiled. _"I have something for you"_

"I'll be there immediately, Master" He answered, truly intrigued on what the Sith Lord had for him. Vader fired thrusters and slid into Imperial City's traffic with ease, angling towards the Senate's landing platform.

* * *

_Yavin IV- Secret Jedi Temple:_

The seven Jedi Masters in the council sat discussing recent events:

"Is there anything that anyone wishes to discuss before this meeting is adjourned?" Mace asked.

"Yes Master" Adi Galia spoke up. "I still think that is was a mistake for us to accept young Skywalker into the Jedi."

"This issue has already been discussed, Master Galia." Shaak Ti said.

"Strong in the force young Skywalker is." Master Yoda stated simply.

"That is not the issue." Ki-Adi Mundi interjected. "The problem is that the boy is too old for training, master, he is attached and emotional."

"Judging whether he is too old or not will not help" Kit Fisto said. "In these times of war, we can use all the help we can get. And besides…" he looked around the council chamber. "He was trained at a younger age by one of our own."

It was Adi Gallia's turn to speak. "Quinlan Vos was one of the most unorthodox Jedi in our order, as was his Master; they both defied the code and married. How do we know that Skywalker will not follow on the same footsteps?"

As soon as Adi Gallia said that all Jedi Masters began to argue with each other.

"Heard enough arguing, I have!" Yoda said loudly; all masters shut up and looked at the small Jedi. "Trained young Skywalker will be; the Chosen One he could be, entirely trustworthy he is not and reveal our secrets we will not until proven otherwise we have."

Shaak Ti spoke up. "Master Yoda" she said. "I suggest that while Skywalker trains and earns our trust, that he remains on Felucia's temple to protect the one here and the one on Dantooine."

"I agree with master Ti." Mace Windu said.

"As do I." Yoda replied "Re-tested for Midichlorians young Skywalker will be; sure of his power we must be."

* * *

_Imperial City- Senate's Landing Platform:_

He was truly intrigued on what surprise the emperor had for him. Emperor Palpatine was not a generous man. His master rarely gave gifts to anyone, including Darth Maul.

He noticed a small shuttle and his Master waiting for him next to it.

Vader walked towards his Master and kneeled to him as he always did. "Master," He simply said

Motioning with his arm for Vader to stand, he said. "Rise, my friend," Vader did so and followed his Master without question. "Your accuracy on this assignment has been most pleasing, Lord Vader, and for that, I have a reward for you"

"Thank you, my Master" he answered; the only time Palpatine had awarded him was when he led his first assault as an Emperor's hand- Palpatine had allowed him to keep C-3PO.

Both Sith got into the shuttle and an Imperial pilot brought them into Imperial City's space. A great number of the Imperial fleet was stationed there since various officers where on leave until the Emperor ordered otherwise, and to protect the shipment and materials for the Death Star.

The shuttle landed on a new Imperial Cruiser that seemed to be of a new model and it looked like it had not gone to combat yet.

Vader followed Sidious to the bridge of the Imperial Cruiser, immediately noticing the absence of Imperial admirals and officers, since he only saw stormtroopers working.

"Lord Vader, I present you _The Executor_" Palpatine said. Vader looked around the new Imperial Cruiser with what could only be called admiration; as his Master continued. "I had one of our best engineers develop the successor to the original Imperial Destroyers, and this particular destroyer is yours"

Vader looked at his Master not showing his surprise at such a gift- Not even Darth Maul had one as such. "I am honored by your gift, Master." Vader replied

"Now that you will be a Jedi yourself, you need a place to be Lord Vader and keep close to wherever you are in order to plan our next move." Palpatine said

"It will be done, my lord." Vader answered, with just one small detail that still intrigued him. "May I ask something, Master?" Vader asked

Sidious turned and looked at Vader. "What is it, my apprentice?"

"Why are there no Admirals or any soldier other than clones aboard this Destroyer?"

"That is the other part of your gift, Lord Vader." Palpatine answered as he motioned for a stormtrooper to come. "No one knows of your existence, this unit of clones is the 501st legion." He said.

Vader remembered his Master awarded him with his own battalion of clones a few days ago; So these where the 501st legion, the troopers that would only answer to him.

"Lord Vader I present you CC-7567, captain of the 501st legion."

Vader could not believe this. Aside from gaining his own unit of Strom troopers; he was also gaining_ The Executor, _he'd heard of the 501st legion during Palpatine's rule as Chancellor, they were brutal and very effective, and now, they were under his command. "I am grateful, my Master. And I will not fail you on my mission."

"See that you don't, Vader." The Emperor said.

* * *

_Imperial City- Dex's Diner:_

The next morning Obi-Wan met with the council to finish the details of their mission the following night in order to delay the empire as much as humanly possible. All they knew so far was that there was a shipment full of material for whatever the Emperor was building that needed to be send to wherever this thing was being built. They just didn't know where this was to happen.

Once he finished talking to the Jedi Masters and with Siri in order to inform her of his plan, he went in to tell Padmé what was going on.

Obi-Wan opened his door. "How did the meeting with the council went?" Padmé asked

"It went well." he replied "but I have to talk to you." He mentioned

"What about?" Padmé curiously asked

"About the assignment tomorrow night" he answered, leading Padmé to his room in order to discuss this more in private.

She sat on a nearby chair. "So, how is this mission going to work?" she asked.

"Padmé," Obi-Wan said in a serious tone. "Before I tell you anything, you must promise me that you are not going to mention any of this to Anakin." Obi-Wan knew well that Padmé already trusted Anakin; he couldn't say that he didn't trust him because that wasn't true, but he had to follow orders.

"Why? I thought that the council had accepted him." she retorted, not really knowing why she was getting so defensive.

"They did, but the council and I think that before they truly meet him in person, it's best to keep some of our affairs a secret." Obi-Wan answered "so can you promise me?" he asked

"I promise, even though I don't agree completely"

"Very well," Obi-Wan said, knowing she would keep her word. "Listen, Padmé. All we know so far is that there is a shipment that needs to be sent to the location where they are building that thing and that it is tomorrow night." Obi-Wan explained and added, "The only thing we don't know is where this activity is taking place."

"Yeah, those blasted officers didn't mentioned anything else" Padmé said.

"That is why I have decided to take you up on your idea" Obi-Wan said.

"What idea?" Padmé asked

"Extracting the information from a stormtrooper," Obi-Wan answered "I know it's risky and we may not find anything…" Obi-Wan mentioned "…But it's still a good way of knowing without getting caught."

"Master," Padmé said. "Extracting information from a stormtrooper was Anakin's idea." She mentioned. Obi-Wan knew they were being unjust with the young man, but he had to follow instructions to make sure no information got out.

"And it is an idea that we will test tonight; I know it is unfair to not tell him, Padmé. But the council wants to meet him first before they do anything." Padmé dropped the subject and focused on the plan.

"Then what? What will you do once you find the information?" she asked

"I will go to the location and take care of everything." Obi-Wan mentioned.

"Wait, Master. You're going alone? Why?" Padmé exclaimed, looking at him with intense eyes. "Let me come with you so that I may help you!"

He calmed her. "Don't worry about me, Padmé, I won't be alone; Your Master is coming, she'll probably be here by morning and she'll help me in the assault" Obi-Wan said. "In the meantime, I want you to distract Anakin." he explained.

"How do you suppose I do that, Master?"

"I'll leave that up to you, but be ready, once Siri and I finish we must be prepared to leave Imperial City immediately."

* * *

_Imperial City- Undercity:_

After receiving his next assignment from his Master, Darth Maul had located one of the galaxy's most feared assassins; Asajj Ventress.

Better known simply as Ventress; She was a fierce assassin who'd been discovered by Palpatine in the times of the Jedi purge; she was a force sensitive child being trained by a Jedi Knight in the planet of Rattatak, once all force sensitive beings across the galaxy where exterminated, it mattered little if she was trained by a Jedi because she was young enough to be turned and trained into a killing machine. And so she had become one in the last decade.

A ship entered the abandoned hangar and a hooded figure walked out of the ship and across the landing platform; her image was barely visible- even though the sun was already up in the early morning hours, the Undercity received very little sunlight.

She removed her hood and kneeled to the Sith Lord. "My lord." She said

"Lady Ventress," Maul said emotionlessly. "My Master requests your services immediately."

"What is he's bidding?" she asked as she stood up. Darth Maul gave her a datapad.

"You are to travel to the planet of Naboo and begin an investigation on the whereabouts of the daughter of their former king."

"It will be done, my Lord." She answered and asked. "What should I do once I locate the girl?"

"Kill her." Maul simply stated. "My Master doesn't want any more interference with his Empire, the fact that she's alive is a problem, since the Naboo are beginning to question the Empire's rule and revolt; now they await her return."

"I will leave immediately and report back as soon as I have a lead." She said as she walked towards her ship.

"Do not fail the Master on this, Ventress" Maul stated before walking out.

Ventress bowed to Darth Maul and went inside the ship. A few moments later the engines where on and the ship took off heading to Naboo in order to find the girl that many considered princess of Naboo and their future queen.

* * *

_Outrider- En route to Imperial City:_

Jedi Knight, Siri Tachi found herself on her way to Imperial City. Right after her last meeting with Obi-Wan ended, she immediately took off on _The Outrider_ in order to make it on time for Obi-Wan's assault.

All she had to do was make it inside Imperial City, which hopefully wasn't going to be that hard because of their ship. Obi-Wan had acquired _The Outrider_ a few days after the Empire's take over in a Sabacc game with the money they made selling the Naboo Royal Starship in which they had escaped along with Padmé and R2-D2.

She had been in hyperspace for quite some time now.

R2-D2 beeped to Siri and she read his translator. *_We still have about 7 parsecs before we make it to Imperial city.*_

"Thank you, R2 you may shut down if you wish since we are going to be here for quite some time." She kindly said as she sat on the pilot's seat.

R2 beeped thankfully and went to recharge near the cockpit. Siri smiled at the little droid, he'd kept her company for the last few hours. Ever since she met the little droid and Padmé; she had developed what some would call an attachment to them both. R2-D2 was loyal and a great companion, even though he had a bit of an attitude problem, but nevertheless one of the greatest R2 units she'd ever come across. And Padmé… well, she was her apprentice and a great friend; she didn't let her past scar her.

"Time to come back to what used to be my home," Siri told herself, she hadn't been on Coruscant for about twelve years and the thought of going back was less than amusing to her.

She thought a little meditation would do her good; she left the pilot's seat and headed towards the cabin; after all she had a few hours before they dropped out of hyperspace.

* * *

_Imperial City- Republica 500:_

Once he finished around _The Executor_, Vader went back to get what few things he had on the lavish apartment he never considered a home.

It was a little after dawn and C-3PO was already up, fully charged and working. "Hello master Ani, is there anything I can get you?" the droid asked.

"Actually, 3PO," he commented. "There is something you can do." He added "I need you to pack my things, we are leaving."

"Oh, of course Master Ani, I will get to it right away." C-3PO answered walking towards the bedchambers.

"Before you go, 3PO." Vader called. "I need to tell you something." He sat on the living area as the droid stood next to him. Anakin looked at C-3PO and continued. "Where we are going, no one knows that I'm Darth Vader, 3PO, and it needs to remain that way… ok?"

"Of course, Master Ani; it is against my programming to reveal anything my master doesn't wish." He replied.

"I'm serious, 3PO." He said, knowing perfectly well that his droid had a big mouth. "I really don't want to leave you behind, you are my friend and I don't think I'm coming back in a really long time." The possibility of wiping C-3PO's memory was not one he wanted to consider.

"I promise."

"Okay, go pack; we'll leave in a few hours," he said. "Just pack the clothes and cleaning utilities, the rest stays behind."

"Right away, Master Ani." C-3PO left to pack what little clothes Vader had.

The Sith Lord stayed behind to wipe out the datapads involving information on the Jedi. He made an encrypted copy in his own datapad and destroyed the rest. Once C-3PO was finished he loaded a suitcase on the speeder the Jedi let him borrow and along with C-3PO, he rode the speeder to CoCo Town and into the dinner where the Jedi where hiding…

* * *

_Imperial City- Dex's Diner:_

Obi-Wan was in the back helping Dex unload a couple boxes full of supplies for the diner. They would be opening in a few hours; Padmé was out front with one of Dex's waitresses setting things up, while the waitress droid stored everything in the kitchen.

"Well," Dex said as he put a box down. "I think that's the last of them, lad."

"Good," Obi-Wan commented. "I was begging to wonder if you needed supplies for an entire battalion."

Both of them shared a laugh and walked inside; Dex towards the kitchen and Obi-Wan to one of the storage areas.

Not long after they were gone; Anakin arrived in the back of the diner- The same place where he took off from the previous night.

"We're here, 3PO." He said opening the cockpit and hopping out of the speeder.

"Oh my, I've never seen quite a place like this." 3PO commented.

Vader helped C-3PO out of the speeder. "Stay with the ship." He ordered and he went towards the front of the diner.

Anakin entered the small diner through the front door.

"I'm here to see the owner." He told the waitress droid.

"Dex," WA-7 called. "There's someone here to see ya!"

"Anakin!" Dex said from the small opening in his kitchen. "How are ya my boy?" He asked, remembering the young man from the previous night.

Both sat on a nearby booth, "Fine, Dex. Thank you." He answered,

"I assume you're looking for Obi-Wan." Dex said in a low voice

"Yes I was." he answered. "He told me to stop here; I actually have my speeder in the back."

"Say no more, lad. C'mon I'll take you to them." Anakin followed Dex to the back of his kitchen. If the alien wasn't mistaken both Jedi where in the back practicing.

* * *

Both Padmé and Obi-Wan where training in one of the empty storage areas of the diner. Obi-Wan was instructing Padmé while she practiced with a seeker droid.

Dex opened one of the doors of the compartment. "Obi-Wan," he called.

Obi-Wan motioned for the droid to stop as soon as Dex opened the door. "What's up, Dex?" he asked.

"Skywalker is here." He informed. Padmé's eyes lit up.

Obi-Wan motioned for Anakin to enter the storage area and the young Jedi did as instructed.

"Thank you, Dex." Obi-Wan answered. The cook left to continue attending his diner and left the three Jedi alone "Anakin, We didn't expect you to arrive so early." Obi-Wan mentioned

"Well, Master." He said. "You did suggest that I stay with you for precaution. So I decided it was best as soon as possible, in case there were any change in plans."

Obi-Wan stroked his beard. "Good thinking, young one." He said and noticed he didn't have anything with him. "You didn't bring anything with you?" He asked

"Actually," he answered. "The speeder I borrowed last night is in the back with my things."

"Very well," Obi-Wan said. "Finish getting installed and meet me back here once you're done, I want to see in what level of training you are."

"Very well, Master Kenobi," He said politely and vowed to the Jedi knight respectfully and exited the storage area.

Obi-Wan turned to Padmé, who'd remained quiet during the small exchange. "Why don't you go and help him." Obi-Wan suggested.

She just nodded and exited quietly. She knew Obi-Wan wanted for her to start her part of the mission immediately

She sprinted a little, Anakin walked a lot faster than she expected. "Anakin, wait up!" she called

He stopped, turned and stared at her; somehow her presence didn't seem to unnerve him, on the contrary- it was very soothing. He just didn't know if that was a good thing, or a bad one.

"I thought I'd come and help you." She said.

"I'd like that, Padmé. Thank you" he answered; both walked towards the back together, just as they had done the previous night.

C-3PO was waiting by the speeder just as his master had instructed; after various minutes he noticed his master returning with a young female human behind him.

"Oh, how wonderful, you have returned Master Ani."

"I told you I wouldn't take long, 3PO." He said, clapping the droid on his metal shoulder and turning to Padmé. "I would like you to meet Padmé." He introduced

"Oh, hello Miss Padmé, I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations." He greeted cheerfully.

Padmé smiled, "Hello, 3PO." She greeted.

"C-3PO is my droid," Anakin commented and explained. "He resides with me here and since I didn't know if we were leaving I brought him along"

"Say no more, Anakin, I understand." She said, remembering R2-D2, and commented. "Besides, I know he may be useful"

"Thank you, Padmé." He said. "I hope master Kenobi thinks the same way."

"He will." She said "Besides, there are always tasks for protocol droids, even if he is working for Jedi."

Anakin took the suitcase and Padmé the haversack.

"Is this all?" Padmé asked

"Yes," He stated simply. "This is all I will need"

Both Anakin and Padmé walked inside and past a few doors with C-3PO ahead of them. Padmé could hear the droid complaining about something that seemed to be unsanitary.

"I don't think I've ever seen a droid quite like him," she mentioned, a little amused by his personality.

"He is one of a kind; I built him myself when I was boy" Anakin replied.

"You built him yourself? He's amazing," Padmé marveled.

"Thank you. But he can be a little annoying sometimes." He said as soon as they stopped by one of the rooms.

"This is your room." She said. "I trust I'll see you in a couple minutes for training."

"Trust me; I'm looking forward to it."

Once Vader finished setting up in his quarters he made his way to the storage unit. Today his life as a Jedi officially begun. C-3PO was taking care of unpacking and so he decided to attend to the so called training.

He exited his room and went to the storage unit where both Obi-Wan and Padmé continued training.

Obi-Wan spotted Anakin entering the storage unit; he was quick in settling in, for it had only been half an hour since he arrived. "Glad you could join us, Anakin." Obi-Wan said, just as he finished training with Padmé. "I assume your accommodations where adequate."

"They will suffice, Master." He answered.

"I hope you're up for a little sparring." Padmé sat on a nearby bench, in order to watch them train.

Anakin simply took his lightsaber out and ignited it. "I'm always up for a little training." He removed his cloak.

"Good." Obi-Wan replied igniting his own lightsaber. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Both of them set their weapons on low power and prepared for the duel.

They were in a battle stance and circled each other for a few seconds; being trained by a Sith lord, Anakin was used to initiating the attack, and so he did: he ran towards Obi-Wan and their sabers clashed multiple times with a speed that was barely visible to the human eye.

Obi-Wan was not surprised to find that Anakin had a lot of strength, he had, after all, an unbelievably high midichlorian count; what did surprise him though, was how aggressive Anakin was at lightsaber combat; he utilized a combination of Juro, Shien/Djem-So and Ataru.

They were both in a deadlock for a few seconds; Obi-Wan flipped back to earn some ground, but soon lost it as Anakin came quickly at him. Neither Obi-Wan nor Anakin left an opening or weakness for the other to attack upon.

Anakin flipped his lightsaber and met Obi-Wan's again after the Jedi knight turned quickly, showing a highly advanced Ataru saber-combat; the Jedi knight was a very formidable opponent.

Padmé watched in amazement as both sapphire-colored blades clashed. Obi-Wan had a lot of experience, he was a Jedi knight after all; but she was surprised to see that Anakin was keeping up quite well with him, even surpassing Obi-Wan; had this not been a sparring lesson, anyone would think that the duel was real.

The battle continued for several minutes; it was very even, until Obi-Wan managed to gain some ground, he parried Anakin's saber and performed an aerial front flip over his head. As he landed, he swept his weapon around and with a swift movement he kicked the young Jedi and disarmed him.

Anakin hit the floor and his lightsaber fell to the other side of the room, he called to the force to recover it, but before he was able to do so, Obi-Wan pointed his lightsaber at him.

"Do you yield?" Obi-Wan asked

Knowing he had been bested by the Jedi he replied. "For now, Master," And accepted Obi-Wan's hand

The Jedi Knight pulled him up. "You did very well, Anakin" Obi-Wan commented. "Heck, better than well, you are in a highly advanced level in lightsaber combat."

"Thank you, Master Kenobi, but I still lost." Anakin replied.

"Yes, well, losing sometimes teaches us more about ourselves than winning does," Obi-Wan said wisely.

Anakin thought about Obi-Wan's words; the Jedi Knight excused himself and left to finish up a few things that required his attention.

"That duel was amazing, Anakin." Padmé said, before heading out to her own room. For Anakin it meant a lot from her to say something like that; Vader in the other hand was frustrated that the Jedi knight bested him in a simple sparring lesson; but then again, maybe it was for the best, that way he was able to lessen the few doubts they had on him. He followed Padmé out, and engaged in conversation with her.

* * *

"_Obi-Wan, I am on my way to Imperial City in The Outrider. I will be arriving in the early morning hours tomorrow current time in the core, until then, my friend."_

Obi-Wan saw Siri's message and knew that tonight he needed to get all the missing information and details on the sabotage they were going to do. He still needed to brief Siri on small details of the mission; like the fact that Anakin knew nothing about their intentions in the next 48 hours

He heard Padmé and Anakin talking out in the hall. The Padawan was doing her part for the next 48 hours.

And tonight, he would do his…


	7. Chapter 6: The Trap is Set

**Disclaimer: Everything and Everyone in Star Wars belong to George!**

_**AN:**__ Sorry for taking so long updating this chapter, I had writer's block, and school has been crazy, add to that I had to be in the hospital for a couple of weeks… I'm okay now and ready to continue with the story, since I mentioned earlier, I hate to keep the readers waiting for so long._

Chapter 6: The Trap is Set

_Imperial City:_

Just as the last few days in what used to be Coruscant, Night was upon the capital city of the Galactic Empire. Only that this night was going to be different, Obi-Wan was going to find out what the location of the chemicals was going to be and tomorrow, Siri would join them in the assault.

Just as the previous nights; both Obi-Wan and Padmé- now with Anakin's aid- prepared for the task at hand; Padmé was dressed in a short, royal blue dress; her hair was down only with a dark headband holding it back; she decided not to wear the wig in order to not arise any suspicions by changing her appearance. Both Obi-Wan and Anakin dressed in civilian clothes; Obi-Wan wore clothes beige and brown in color, while Anakin wore clothes with a darker tone.

Entering the empty diner through the kitchen Obi-Wan asked. "Is everyone ready?"

"Yes Master." Both apprentices answered in unison.

"Let's get going then."

"Take care." Dex mentioned as he too arrived to lock up the front.

"We will, Dex. And you keep a lookout; I don't want you to get into trouble if they spot us."

"I will, lad."

The three Jedi took off in the speeder towards the lower levels of Imperial City and soon after they arrived there.

The speeder was parked. "I want you both to check other bars in the area" Obi-Wan said.

Anakin felt that request being a bit strange on Obi-Wan's part, hadn't they been searching the same place for the last couple of nights because it was mostly frequented by Imperial officers? "Master Kenobi." He mentioned. "I thought that most of the Imperial soldiers met at this establishment."

"You are correct, Anakin, most of them do." Obi-Wan answered. "But now that there are three of us, I think we can cover more ground and focus on more than one establishment."

Vader didn't like the Jedi's answer at all. For some reason, the Jedi Knight was hiding something. And he needed to know what it was. "Of course, Master."

* * *

_Naboo- Ruins of the Royal Palace:_

It'd been over twelve hours since Ventress took off from Imperial City to the small planet of Naboo to do her Master's bidding.

The Sith assassin landed on what used to be the royal palace in Theed, Naboo's capital. If she was to begin her investigation, what better place to begin with, than the last place their precious _princess_ was last seen.

She made her way through the destroyed halls of the crumbled palace. The palace was now a decaying relic ever since Imperial stormtroopers blasted it with their destroyers after the now deceased King defied the Emperor's orders and was eliminated because of it.

The planet of Naboo was now a slave world to the Empire, just like so many other systems, with no king or queen. Only a ruthless Sector Moff who did not care if every single person on the planet died so long as they knew that the Emperor was all powerful.

She arrived to what used to be the Throne Room; there, the sector Moff awaited her.

"Lady Ventress" he said

She removed her hood, "Grand Moff, Panaka, I hope for your sake that you have useful information to give me."

"We are still searching the planet's data bases, Lady Ventress." He replied a little unsettled with the assassin's presence. Did she even realize what she was asking of them? Not only had it been more than twelve years, but because of the Emperor's hunt for the now deceased king, most of the information that was saved in the databases of the palace was destroyed the night the stormtroopers invaded Naboo. "We did, however, manage to recover this holo-image of the last royal family from the Planet's archives." He handed the picture to Ventress.

The picture seemed to have been taken in some sort of retreat- but it did not look at all familiar to any of the people in the room. - There was a man, a woman and two girls, probably from ages ten to thirteen. The man of course, was the deceased king, Ruwee Naberrie; he was dressed in civilian clothes and was hugging the woman, his wife of course, who's name Ventress could not recall. And then she noticed the two little girls hugging their parents and smiling.

"Panaka," Ventress called

"Yes, Lady Ventress?"

"Which of the brats was the one that slipped through your grip?"

He was taken aback by her comment. It had been the clones' ineptitude that a mere child escaped unharmed when the rest of her family didn't, however, Panaka kept his comment to himself and answered the assassin. "The younger one,"

"I need your specialists to work on this holo." She said, "I need them to alter her picture to simulate how she would look today."

"We'll get right on it, Lady Ventress." He answered, leaving to find the Imperial Technicians for the task at hand.

Ventress realized that this assignment was going to be harder than she first thought. Not only where the archives on Naboo useless, but the girl was protected by the Rebel Alliance and the Jedi.

* * *

_Imperial City- Lower Levels:_

All three Jedi where now in position; Anakin and Padmé where on a nearby tavern just as Obi-Wan had instructed. Of course, the Sith Lord despised this idea.

If Vader was honest, there was a decent amount of Imperial officers to spy upon. He didn't like the thought of the Jedi Knight exploring by himself- Obi-Wan was hiding something, and he was going to find out what it was- the problem was, he couldn't ditch Padmé; for some reason, she had stayed close to him all night, not leaving his side; as if trying to stop him from doing something. Vader could easily overpower her, but if he was to gain the Jedi's trust, then he needed to be patient and do things another way. Sooner or later he would figure out what Obi-Wan was up to.

* * *

_Imperial City- The Lower Levels:_

Obi-Wan took the opportunity to sneak out of the tavern he was in, using the force he listened to conversations around him; he could hear shady characters talking, until he heard the right conversation among a small battalion of stormtroopers.

He quickly followed them. _'This is my chance!' _he thought.

He hid behind one of the walls- he needed to wait for one of the clones to be alone or for them to split up; the battalion was small, but it would only take one clone to set up an alarm if he confronted all of them.

Suddenly, the group of clones stopped and their leader turned facing the other nine clones, "Split up men," he said. "Survey the area and report back in an hour."

"Right away, sir" They answered in unison as the group of ten split into five pairs of two. Obi-Wan couldn't believe his luck! Two stormtroopers where far easier to overpower than ten, now all he needed to do was pick one of those two clones and he would get what he was looking for.

Two of the stormtroopers stopped suddenly in between two allies, "You check this area," one of the stormtroopers said pointing towards the east, "and I'll check this one."

'_It's now or never' _Obi-Wan thought. The clones where separating and if he remembered correctly about their procedures, he had a good half an hour before the clones met up once again. He was going to have to improvise.

As soon as one of the clones headed east, he used the force to sedate the remaining stormtrooper; once that was done he quickly dragged the unconscious clone to his speeder- lucky for him this part of the Lower Levels was almost deserted, anyone that ever saw him would not remember…

* * *

_Imperial City- Tavern:_

So far the Imperial officers talked about the assignment they had prepared for the following night; lucky for them, they hadn't revealed the location or the time of the place the materials where being loaded. If the Jedi found out, the Death Star's construction was going to be delayed considerably. And Vader knew if that happened, Sidious was going to take it out on him.

Padmé walked to the table they were both sitting on. "I brought you something to drink." She said handing him a glass.

"Thanks," he answered.

"It's Cider," she mentioned, taking a seat, "since we are both on duty right now I thought it was best if we didn't have any alcohol." They both took a sip at their drinks. "You've been really quiet today, Anakin. Is there something wrong?"

"No, not really," He lied, "I think it's really strange that Obi-Wan just left, don't you?"

'_Not really.' _She thought. "He's probably in another establishment doing what we are doing. He just doesn't trust that I stay alone; you saw what happened the night we met when he left me alone."

He didn't really believe what she was saying. What better place than this one to find the Imperial troopers; in any other establishment there where probably no more than ten. "Possibly,"

"If these officers said anything at least semi-useful, then we wouldn't have to split up." She mentioned.

"Trust me, Padmé, they may seem stupid and even untrustworthy, even for Palpatine, but they love their pathetic lives too much to risk it by talking too much, they know how the Emperor is."

"It's not like we have any other way to learn what they are doing," she mentioned, "if we interrogate an officer they usually prefer a humane death at the hands of the Rebellion than an Imperial execution for talking too much."

"If you ask me," He mentioned, "The best way to learn of your enemy's plans is to join them."

Padmé didn't really notice the double meaning in Anakin's words.

"As good as that idea sounds," Padmé mentioned, "it's too risky, even for a Jedi, infiltrating the enemy won't help if it means sacrificing a friend or an ally," she said and continued, "Besides, it would take a long time to make it to a position high enough to learn information that helps."

That was the weakness of the Alliance and the Jedi, they cared too much about their comrades to make a strategic move against the Empire; perhaps his mission was not as hard as he first thought. "When all are playing for the same team," he answered, "even those on the lower ranks learn something."

* * *

_Imperial City-Palpatine's Office: _

Things were going according to plan.

All the pieces where in the right place, all Sidious needed to do now was make the right move; he needed Vader out of Coruscant and directly within the Jedi Order.

He had to admit that before, he had his doubts about his secret apprentice; even though Vader was turned a long time ago, the boy could betray him at any time, so unlike his other apprentice, Darth Maul, who was raised since infancy in the dark side of the force, never able to think for himself, so the thought of betraying the Emperor never even crossed his mind. Breaking the rule of two had certainly helped his empire prosper. Not only did he have two apprentices, but assassins such as Ventress and many others who he would use in the future to crumble the remaining Jedi and the Alliance as well.

He had to admit that even though he managed to rise into power with the clone army by inflicting fear upon every single being in the galaxy, proving to them that not even the mighty Jedi could defeat him. He'd made a great mistake in being so hasty when it came to exterminating the Jedi, Darth Maul was still young and inexperienced; Palpatine himself had just become a Sith Master, both of their impatience to rule the galaxy gave those Jedi powerful enough a chance to escape, now the Jedi were becoming a thorn in his side along with the Rebellion.

At least something good came out of all this; hunting down the Jedi throughout the galaxy was what led him to the Chosen One in the remote planet of Tatooine. The Chosen One was on his side, serving him. Palpatine had certainly done well in training the boy. He was a mindless slave in his game of conquest, not even aware of his true potential. As long as Darth Vader didn't realize this, Palpatine could ensure his own place as Emperor.

He had to be patient this time, and a step ahead of his adversaries. If Vader managed to infiltrate the Jedi, then Palpatine would know about all their secret locations and eradicate them once and for all. He would be able to destroy the Rebel Alliance once they didn't have the support of the Jedi, and if Darth Vader got lucky, maybe he could find out which of his Senators where sympathizers of the Rebellion…

* * *

_Imperial City- Lower Levels:_

Obi-Wan didn't drive very far; he made it to one of the taverns and quickly rented a room- he was going to need all the privacy he could get. He neither wanted to put Dex in danger, nor did he have the time to drive all the way to CoCo Town for this particular investigation, so a Tavern would have to do.

It didn't take very long for the clone to regain his consciousness; Obi-Wan was prepared to interrogate him.

"What the...?" The trooper known as RC-3222 said, noticing both his hands and feet shackled to a chair.

"Good, you're finally awake." He heard someone say, "don't worry, I won't take long"

RC-3222 struggled against his bonds; Obi-Wan ignored the stormtrooper, using the force, he closed his eyes, extended his right arm and said: "You will tell me where the materials for the super weapon are being assembled."

"I will tell you where the materials for the super weapon are being assembled." He repeated "…the chemical weapons for the construction of the ultimate weapon are going to be loaded to an unmarked shuttle at midnight tomorrow night in the shipping yard on the Southern Compound of the city; we are to go there and keep watch."

Obi-Wan finally had the time and location; Anakin was right, storm troopers knew more than most people thought. He tried pushing his luck a little and tried to see if the storm trooper had any more information.

"Tell me where the super weapon is being constructed."

"I will tell you where the super weapon is being constructed…" RC-3222 stopped momentarily and then gave Obi-Wan an answer, "it is classified information that only higher rank officers possess."

Obi-Wan knew that was all the information he was going to get from this clone; the Emperor was being really careful on keeping this weapon a secret, and if this clone didn't know anything about this mysterious weapon, he doubted any other clone did.

"Once you awake again, you will not remember any of this." Obi-Wan said, using a force technique to erase the clone's short term memory and making him unconscious once again.

Obi-Wan snuck out once again with the clone trooper and left him right where he found him and quickly left- the clone would wake in time before the other one arrived; he had just enough time to rendezvous with Anakin and Padmé.

Closing time was nearing, that's when both apprentices spotted Obi-Wan entering the establishment. "Found out anything here?" he asked after approaching them.

"Not much." Padmé answered "they all mentioned what we already know."

"Did you find anything?" Anakin asked

"Nothing much really," he lied. Though Vader knew better, "are you both ready to go?" Obi-Wan asked

"Yes." They answered in unison

* * *

_Imperial City- Dex's Diner:_

Once Vader made sure both Jedi where asleep he contacted Darth Sidious.

A few moments later the holographic image of his Master appeared. "Lord Vader." The Emperor said. "To what do I owe your call at this late hour?"

As habit Vader bowed. "Forgive me my Master, but what I have to inform you cannot wait."

"What have you found out?"

"Master, I'm positive that the Jedi know something about the materials being assembled for the Death Star tomorrow night."

"Have they told you anything, Lord Vader?"

"No Master, they don't trust me enough yet to tell me, but both Jedi have been acting strange the last few hours."

"Do not worry about it, Lord Vader, I will send Darth Maul to oversee that everything goes as planned. If the Jedi do show up, he will take care of everything."

"Understood, Master," He answered, though he doubted Darth Maul could accomplish anything, especially when the Jedi had the advantage of surprise.

"If the Jedi do show tomorrow they must be getting ready to run in case something goes wrong. Have _The Executor_ ready to follow you." Palpatine ordered.

"I will contact the captain at once, Master." With that the transmission ended and Vader lost no time in communicating with the Imperial Destroyer.

"Captain," Vader said as the hologram of CC-7567 appeared.

"Yes sir?" he asked

"Have _The Executor _ready." He ordered "if things go the way I think, tomorrow we will take off Imperial City. Be ready to follow my coordinates, my Master wants the 501st legion as close as possible."

"Right away sir, we await further instructions." The image of the stormtrooper disappeared.

For tonight Vader wouldn't find anything more, so he decided to sleep, after all if things happened like he thought they were going to, tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

_Palpatine's Office:_

As Emperor Palpatine sat on his desk, he smirked evilly. The attack the Jedi where planning for the next day was exactly what he needed to send Vader off of Imperial City and into the Hidden Jedi Temple.

All Palpatine needed to do now was to have the entire shipment ready; he would allow the Jedi to sabotage the compound and attack, but he was not going to allow them to destroy the materials being sent to the Death Star. He knew Darth Maul would be enough to stop the Jedi and make them run, Palpatine would allow them to escape, a small sacrifice for a more effective result, since in time, their order would die…

* * *

_The Next Day…_

* * *

_The Outrider- Imperial City's space:_

It was morning on the core, and just as Siri told Obi-Wan, she arrived on time to what once used to be Coruscant.

"We're here, R2, get the ship ready for landing." She said as the little droid happily complied.

Once they were close enough to the atmosphere the ship's comm-screen started blinking.

Siri reluctantly answered. _"Unidentified craft please identify yourself,"_ The voice over the comm said.

"Supply ship. Requesting permission to land and unload," Siri replied, hoping they would buy it.

"_Stand by..."_ Siri waited patiently while the troops did their routine checks.

After a couple of minutes the person at the other side of the comm came back. _"You have been granted clearance. You may land in docking bay 24,"_

Siri had to admit that she felt a bit of relief, it'd been easier than she had expected. "Well, R2 I guess that we need to hide this ship close enough and then we'll go visit an old friend."

The little droid beeped affirmatively.

She spaced out, however, upon noticing that the crumbles of what used to be the Jedi Temple still remained, perhaps as a way of reminding the people what became of the Jedi because they stood in Palpatine's way.

If the Jedi could be destroyed, anyone could.

R2 beeped, bringing Siri back from her trance as they landed on the docking bay close to what used to be the executive building of the Republic. Once their ship was registered with a fake name, R2 found through the city's main computer an abandoned landing pad close enough to CoCo town to hide their ship in; if for any reason things tonight went completely wrong, then they needed their ship as close as possible in order to make a quick escape.

Both she and R2 made their way through Imperial City towards CoCo Town. She had to admit, that aside from the numerous propagandas of the Emperor and the fact that there was a statue in his honor, the city that once used to be the capital of the Republic hadn't changed at all.

The little astromech droid and the Jedi knight arrived to a very familiar establishment. Siri remembered sharing numerous meals here with Obi-Wan after training sessions in the Temple, before and after any assignment they were sent to with their Masters, or on the occasions where they were paired up for patrol duty.

Both Jedi and Astromech entered through the front doors of the diner.

Dex immediately recognized the beautiful woman that walked through the doors of his establishment; aside from the fact that she was older and her hair was longer, she looked exactly the same as twelve years ago.

He exited the kitchen and approached her, "What can I get for ya, mi girl?" he kindly asked.

Siri immediately recognized the old Besalisk; a smile spread across her face. "One of your delicious pastries and a big hug to an old friend,"

Dex lost no time, he chuckled properly welcoming a friend he had not seen in a very long time. "How are ya, Siri?" he asked.

"As well as can be expected, Dex." she mentioned "though I don't think a well as you." She mentioned, noticing how full the diner was.

"Let ol' Dex take ya to Ben."

She eagerly followed Dex to the back of the Diner where the rooms where, with R2-D2 following close behind.

* * *

Obi-Wan hadn't heard a single thing from Siri since she last informed him that she was on her way. If everything had gone according to plan, then she could be here any minute.

He could barely wait; had things gone right with her travel? Hopefully she didn't have any trouble getting to the core; then again, she had a habit of always being late, that's why Obi-Wan wasn't so worried, Siri always found a way to be late to anything, even important assignments such as this one.

His thoughts where suddenly interrupted when he heard Dex at the other side of his door.

"Ben, ol' buddy," He said. "I have with me someone who wants to see ya."

Obi-Wan opened the door to find Dex accompanied by Siri.

"Siri!" Obi-Wan said happily, "It's good to see you."

"Obi-Wan, is good to see you too." She replied happily

Once both Jedi greeted each other, Dex mentioned, "I'll leave you kids alone; ol' Dex has to return to the diner"

"Okay" they both answered in unison.

R2-D2 decided to go find his mistress, while Siri went to Obi-Wan's room to discuss important business before meeting with Padmé or Anakin.

Obi-Wan couldn't believe it, Siri was finally here. "I'm glad you made it here safely, Siri." He said, "How was your trip?"

"It went pretty well, Ben, believe it or not getting to Imperial City was easier than I thought."

"They're over confident, thinking that this place could never be infiltrated."

"I agree with you on that one, but anyways, where's Padmé?"

"She's with Anakin" Obi-Wan answered

"Ah, yes, our new addition to the Jedi, tell me about him, Obi-Wan." Siri took a seat in the nearby chair in Obi-Wan's room; he sat at the edge of the bed.

"There's not much to tell about him yet, all I know so far is that he was trained by Quinlan Vos and that he's been living here on Coruscant for about five years, oh yes, and the fact that his Midichlorian count is off the charts, but we all knew that one."

"You don't trust him," Siri commented.

"I never said that," Obi-Wan retorted.

"You didn't need to, Obi-Wan, I know you don't; the fact that he is not aware of what's going to happen tonight says it all."

"It's not me that doesn't trust him, Siri, is the Council; they told me that until they could test him further, we shouldn't share any information with him."

"Then tell me, how are we going to sneak out of here without him finding out about it?" Siri asked and continued. "And if things don't go the way we're planning, how are we going to tell Anakin and Padmé to be prepared?"

"I don't know Siri, if we succeed tonight, we can remain here a while longer to find out the name of their weapon, if not, it's up to the spies the Alliance has infiltrated to find that information for us."

"If we tell them to investigate tonight and we have to run, how are we going to find them?"

"We can't think like that, Siri," Obi-Wan answered, "I'll tell R2 to have the ship ready in case we have to run. Padmé is aware of our mission, if something goes wrong, we'll call her." He said, "She'll be able to handle Anakin. We'll just tell her to stay close to the ship tonight and be ready just in case."

Siri didn't press the issue further with Obi-Wan; she knew that he had almost everything planned out. She agreed with Padmé, things could get out of hand, but Siri understood why the Council was doing this. No matter how much she disagreed with the Council, she would never disobey orders.

"Okay then," she said, and stood up, "now, take me to my Padawan."

Obi-Wan smiled, "she should be around here somewhere,"

* * *

Padmé went back to her room when Anakin had to fix a loose screw on C-3PO. She was now getting ready both physically and mentally for tonight's mission.

How was she going to convince Anakin to stay here with her without revealing what Obi-Wan and Siri were up to? She only had a small amount of time to come up with something.

There was a knock at her door, which interrupted her thoughts. "Padmé" she heard Obi-Wan through the other door, "Guess who's here."

She quickly opened the door with a really good idea of who was with Obi-Wan. "Master!" she smiled, quickly hugging Siri.

"It's good to see you too, Padmé." Even though Obi-Wan and Padmé had only been on Imperial City for a short amount of time, Padmé had not seen her Master in over a month due to the briefing of the mission and her own involvement in the Rebel Alliance.

"How have you been, Master?"

"I've been good; your astromech droid took really good care of me on my way here."

Padmé smiled at her Master's answer, "Yes, R2 can be a great companion in space travel."

Siri changed the subject, "so, tell me about the plan," she said, as the three Jedi went inside Padmé's room.

"I'm sure Master Obi-Wan told you about tonight," Padmé said, avoiding her involvement.

"Yes he did," Siri answered, "but what will you do to distract Anakin?"

"I don't know yet," she confessed.

Siri thought for a moment, "Obi-Wan suggested that both of you should probably continue to investigate the cantinas in the lower levels, start with the one you guys have frequented this last few days, and move closer to our ship as the night progresses, that way Anakin wont suspect a thing."

Padmé liked Siri's plan, she could distract Anakin and keep him in the dark until Siri and Obi-Wan were finished.

"That's actually not a bad idea, Siri," Obi-Wan said.

"Yeah," Padmé mentioned, "Its good, Master,"

"Now that all the pieces of our plan are figured out," Siri said, "I would like to meet Anakin in person"

"He should be around here somewhere," Obi-Wan said.

"He might be in the training room," Padmé mentioned, "he said that as soon as he was finished fixing something important, he was going to train for a while."

* * *

C-3PO came out of his Master's room as curiosity got the better of him to look around the peculiar establishment in which they were staying; how different it was from the luxurious pen-house they came from, but it didn't matter, so long as he wasn't left behind he was fine with staying here.

C-3PO spotted an astromech droid coming his way, and in a friendly tone, he said, "oh, hello!" to the little droid.

He beeped friendly in response. "I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations, and you are?" The astromech droid beeped in response. "R2-D2, a pleasure to meet you,"

R2-D2 beeped and whistled to 3PO, telling him about his recent arrival, "are you looking for someone?" R2-D2 whistled in response.

"Ah!" 3PO exclaimed, "You are looking for Miss Padmé,"

As if on cue, Obi-Wan, Siri, and Padmé came out of the room and met with the droids in the hallway, "R2-D2!" Padmé exclaimed, hugging her droid, "it's good to see you."

"He was looking for you, Miss Padmé," 3PO said,

"Thank you, 3PO," Padmé said and looked at the Jedi knights, "this is C-3PO, he's Anakin's droid."

"I didn't know Anakin had a droid," Obi-Wan mentioned.

"Yes sir, I am C-3PO, human-cyborg relations," 3PO said, "I was built by Master Anakin when he was just nine years old,"

"3PO," Padmé said, "do you know where Anakin is?" she asked,

"Master Anakin said he was going to train for a couple minutes before he had to get ready for tonight."

"Thank you, 3PO," Siri said, as the three of them walked to the storage areas.

* * *

Once Vader finished fixing C-3PO, he went to one of the storage areas to practice his saber techniques. He felt a new force presence nearby; another Jedi was here. Perhaps it was Padmé's Master. Now there was no doubt in his mind that the Jedi were going to sabotage the Imperial Shipment tonight, why else would another Jedi risk coming to the Empire's capital?

He would play their game; he would pretend he didn't know anything; after all, Palpatine wanted the Jedi out of Imperial City and for him to get in the heart of the Jedi Order.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan called, standing next to the door, "there is someone here I want you to meet in person." Anakin turned to meet with Obi-Wan.

Coming out of the storage area, Anakin met not only with Obi-Wan Kenobi, but with Padmé and a very familiar Jedi Knight. "Remember Siri from the conversation with the Council?"

"Yes, of course," Anakin answered, "It's nice to meet you in person, Knight Tachi"

"Likewise, Padawan Skywalker," she answered nicely; he found it very strange to be addressed as a Padawan learner instead of a Sith Lord. To some extent, in the deepest, darkest abyss that was his heart, he actually liked it. But Darth Vader would never admit such a thing.

He shook those thoughts away, "Forgive me for asking, Master Kenobi," Anakin said, turning to face Siri, "but why did you come all the way here to Imperial City, Siri? If all we're doing right know is investigating in the lower levels," he knew the Jedi would probably hide the truth from him, but he wanted to see if could get something out of them.

Siri was the one that answered, "Obi-Wan and the Council thought it was best if there was another Jedi here to help, one Master and two apprentices is sometimes overwhelming." Siri's answer seemed to satisfy Anakin.

"How about we eat something and discuss the details for tonight?" Obi-Wan offered,

"Sounds like an excellent idea, Master Obi-Wan," Padmé said.

* * *

_A few hours later…_

* * *

The remaining of the day passed rather quickly and night dawned with an ominous dread in the air. Tonight was the night of sabotage; it was on the hands of the Jedi to delay the construction of the ultimate weapon to give the Rebel Alliance more time to acquire information.

Obi-Wan and Siri were finishing with the small details that were still left; they would be leaving at any minute, while Anakin and Padmé went to investigate in Imperial City's lower levels.

"Ready?" Siri asked, walking into Obi-Wan's room, dressed in a dark leathery jumpsuit and with her hair up in a high ponytail.

"Yes," he replied, as he finished putting on his utility belt on the darkened attire. Both Jedi knights were dressed in dark clothes to help camouflage them better in the darkness of night. Obi-Wan was wearing an outfit similar to his Jedi clothes, but in gray and black colors.

"Well then," Siri said, "let's drop off the Padawans and be on our way before we miss the Imperial shuttle."

"Ready when you are, Siri," Obi-Wan said

"Let's get going then." She said, putting her cloak over her suit. Obi-Wan couldn't resist smiling at his friend; she could be late for anything, but Siri never waited on anyone, him included.

* * *

Padmé paced nervously around her room; she knew what she had to do, but that didn't stop her from worrying, she couldn't help both of her friends tonight, and to make things worse, one of their members didn't know what was going on!

Obi-Wan and Siri walked into her room, "Ready?" her Master asked.

"I don't like this idea, Master." She mentioned

"Me neither," Siri said, "But I also don't like the thought of millions of people dying because we didn't do enough to save them."

"I know, Master," Padmé mentioned, "It's just that… I wish I could be there to help you both."

"We know, Padmé." Obi-Wan said, "But trust me, we feel better knowing you're safe; I don't know what Siri and I might encounter on this mission."

Padmé nodded in understanding.

The three Jedi encountered Anakin on their way to the back, where the speeder was. "So how are we dividing tonight?" Anakin asked Obi-Wan.

"Since there are four of us now, Anakin, I was thinking that Siri and I can investigate on different establishments, while you and Padmé cover the eastern area of the lower levels."

"I like that plan," he lied.

"Good, let's get going then." Siri mentioned.

All four Jedi entered the speeder. Obi-Wan and Siri left Anakin and Padmé in the cantina of the previous nights, while they made their way to the Southern Compound of the city where the shipping yard was…

* * *

_Imperial City- Southern Compound:_

The rundown warehouse bustled with activity as Imperial Officers and stormtroopers milled about loading barrels of toxic chemicals and weaponry into a shuttle.

Obi-Wan and Siri arrived soon enough at a prudent distance; they walked the rest of the way there. They scaled the domed-shaped building, until they reached the roof. From there, Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and cut through the bolts on the roof hatch. Both of them surveyed the scene below, sure enough, the warehouse was full of Imperial officers and stormtroopers milling about. Both Jedi could see different boxes and crates full chemicals and materials.

"Ready?" Obi-Wan asked Siri.

She nodded, "Be careful." She replied

"You too," he said, clutching her hand. They would wait until they loaded the ship, then they would destroy it, that way all the materials where in one place and they wouldn't have to worry about missing anything. Easier said than done, Siri clutched the thermal detonator and waited for the right moment to come…

* * *

_On the next chapter: Obi-Wan and Siri run into trouble on the Southern Compound when the Sith Lord Darth Maul ambushes them. Anakin and Padmé run into trouble while investigating, and Asajj Ventress gets closer to finding out the identity of the future queen of Naboo._


End file.
